Amazon Offers to Boost Rival Products’ Visibility, Stop Using Sellers’ Data to Avoid EU Antitrust Fine

Amazon said while it disagrees with several of the EU’s conclusions, it has engaged constructively with the watchdog.

Advertisement
By Agencies | Updated: 14 July 2022 17:37 IST
Highlights
  • The Commission in 2020 charged Amazon with using its size
  • Amazon joins Google and Meta in falling under reinforced monitoring
  • Amazon said it has engaged with the EU competition watchdog
Amazon Offers to Boost Rival Products’ Visibility, Stop Using Sellers’ Data to Avoid EU Antitrust Fine

Amazon said it has engaged with the EU competition watchdog

Amazon has offered to refrain from using sellers' data for its own competing retail business and boost the visibility of rival products on its platform, EU regulators said on Thursday, a move aimed at staving off a possible hefty fine. The US online retail giant offered to treat sellers equally when ranking their offers for the "buy box" on its website and which generates the bulk of its sales, confirming a Reuters story. Sellers will also be allowed to choose their own logistics and delivery services company instead of Amazon's competing logistics services.

The European Commission said rivals and customers had until September 9 to provide feedback to Amazon's proposal before it decides whether to accept the offer and end its two investigations.

Amazon, which risks a fine up to 10 percent of its global turnover if found guilty of breaching EU rules, said while it disagrees with several of the Commission's conclusions it has engaged constructively with the EU competition watchdog.

The Commission in 2020 charged Amazon with using its size, power and data to push its own products and gain an unfair advantage over rival merchants that sell on its online platform. As reported a week ago, Germany's anti-cartel watchdog said it has placed e-commerce giant Amazon under closer surveillance for any possible abuse of its market position.

Advertisement

The Federal Cartel Office said it had determined Amazon to be a company of "paramount significance for competition", a move that will allow it to act more effectively to "intervene and prohibit potential anticompetitive practices".

Amazon joins Google parent Alphabet and Meta, the group behind Facebook, in falling under reinforced monitoring made possible by the German Competition Act.

Advertisement

The act, which came into force in January 2021, allows the cartel authority to intervene earlier, particularly against the world's tech giants.

Amazon was a "key player in the e-commerce sector" and had created a "digital ecosystem" as both seller and marketplace, said Federal Cartel Office chief, Andreas Mundt.


Noise co-founder Amit Khatri joins Orbital, the Gadgets 360 podcast, for a special episode. Orbital is available on Spotify, Gaana, JioSaavn, Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music and wherever you get your podcasts.
Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.
 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Amazon, European Commission
Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Vivo X200 FE Global Launch Confirmed; Design Teased
  2. Poco F7 Launch Date, Price in India, Design and Key Features Leaked Online
  3. Vivo Y400 Pro 5G India Launch Date Confirmed; Design Revealed
  4. Oppo Reno 14 5G Series, Watch X2 Mini, Enco Buds 3, Pad SE to Launch Globally
  5. Realme Narzo 80 Lite 5G Launched in India With 6,000mAh Battery: See Price
  6. Vivo T4 Lite 5G to Launch in India Soon; Battery Capacity Revealed
  7. Hisense U7Q Mini-LED TV Launched in India With These Features
  8. OnePlus Nord 5 Series, OnePlus Buds 4 to Launch in India on This Date
  9. Meta Partners With Oakley for New Smart Glasses; to Launch on June 20
  10. WhatsApp Is Finally introducing Ads on Its Messaging App
  1. Meta and Oakley Announce New Smart Glasses Collaboration, Launch Set for June 20
  2. WhatsApp Announces Ads in Status, Channel Subscriptions, and More Features for Businesses
  3. Bitget Partners UNICEF Unit to Expand Blockchain Training Across India, Other Countries 
  4. WhatsApp Reportedly Working on Ability to Scan Documents on Android Smartphones
  5. ElevenLabs Expands Eleven V3 Text-to-Speech Model With Support for 41 New Languages
  6. Vivo T4 Lite 5G India Launch Confirmed; Battery Capacity, Price Range Teased
  7. TikTok Pushes Deeper Into AI-Generated Video Ads With New Tools
  8. Apple Risks Fresh EU Charge Sheet Over App Store Curbs
  9. The Witcher 4 Will Target 60 FPS on Consoles, but Series S Will Be 'Extremely Challenging' Says CD Projekt Red
  10. Oppo Reno 14 5G Series Global Launch Teased Alongside Watch X2 Mini, Enco Buds 3 and Pad SE
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.