Washington, D.C. — The American Economic Liberties Project today released the following statement in response to a new lawsuit from Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine against GrubHub.

“Attorney General Racine’s suit against GrubHub is an important part of combatting dominant delivery apps’ widespread abuse of restaurants and workers,” said Moe Tkacik, Senior Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project. “From charging commissions as high as 65% to devising a network of phantom phone numbers to extract $8 “findersfees” for takeout orders, GrubHub has always been the most brazenly predatory actor in the delivery app business. As AG Racine’s complaint reveals, neither the company’s dwindling market share nor its new owners have triggered much soul-searching.”

“Indeed, this suit details seven subtle new ways GrubHub deceives customers into believing its services are ‘free’ while hitting them with an array of confusing and hidden fees,” added Tkacik. “Fundamentally, fast and free delivery is a mirage promulgated by Silicon Valley monopolists at the expense of workers, small businesses and the social fabric. We applaud the Attorney General for his continued vigilance and action on this issue, especially as workers and small businesses struggle to recover from the crises of Covid-19 and inflation.”

Learn more about GrubHub and dominant delivery app abuses in “Rescuing Restaurants” here.

Learn more about Protect Our Restaurants here.

Learn more about Economic Liberties here.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.