Amazon to face EU antitrust charges

LONDON — European Union officials are preparing to bring antitrust charges against Amazon for abusing its dominance in internet commerce to box out smaller rivals, people with knowledge of the case say.

Nearly two years in the making, the case is one of the most aggressive attempts by a government to crimp the power of the ecommerce giant, which largely has sidestepped regulation throughout its 26year history.

The EU regulators have determined Amazon is stifling competition by unfairly using data collected from third-party merchants to boost its own product offering, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

An announcement could come this summer, although the timing still is in flux, one of the people said.

The European Commission’s antitrust office, which started investigating Amazon in 2018, is planning to release what’s known as a statement of objections against the company outlining its conclusions about how it has violated antitrust laws.

It’s just one step in what could be a yearslong process before final decisions are made about whether to impose a fine or other penalties on the company.

A settlement also could be reached.

Amazon declined to comment, as did the European Commission.

The case stems from Amazon’s treatment of thirdparty merchants who rely on its website to reach customers. Investigators have focused on Amazon’s dual role as both the owner of its online store and a seller of goods that competes with other sellers, creating a conflict of interest.

Authorities in Europe have concluded Amazon abuses its position to give its own products preferential treatment.

European officials spent the past year interviewing merchants and others who depend on Amazon to better understand how it collects data to use to its advantage, including agreements that require them to share certain data with Amazon as a condition of selling goods on the platform.

Many merchants have complained that if they have a product that’s selling well on Amazon, the company then will introduce its own product at a lower price or give it more prominent placement on the website.

It’s not the first time the European Commission has targeted Amazon. In 2017, officials ordered Luxembourg to recover about 250 million euros from Amazon in unpaid taxes.

That same year, the company settled an antitrust case concerning its contracts with book publishers for e-books.