Amazon charged with antitrust violations by European regulators
LONDON » European Union regulators brought antitrust charges against Amazon on Tuesday, saying the online retail giant broke competition laws by unfairly using its size and access to data to harm smaller merchants that rely on the company to reach customers.
The European Commission, the executive branch of the 27- nation bloc, said Amazon had abused its dual role as both a store used by scores of vendors, and a merchant that sells its own competing goods on the platform. Authorities accused Amazon of harvesting nonpublic data from sellers who use its marketplace to spot popular products, then copy and sell them, often at a lower price.
“We must ensure that dual role platforms with market power, such as Amazon, do not distort competition,” Margrethe Vestager, the commission’s vice president for digital issues, said in a statement. “Data on the activity of third party sellers should not be used to the benefit of Amazon when it acts as a competitor to these sellers.”
The case, which had been expected for months, is the latest front in a trans- Atlantic regulatory push against Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google as authorities in the United States and Europe take a more skeptical view of their business practices and the dominance of the digital economy. Last month, the Justice Department brought antitrust charges against Google, and Apple and Facebook are also facing investigations in Washington and Brussels.
Many in Europe will be watching to see how the Amazon announcement is received by the incoming administration of Presidentelect Joe Biden, who is expected to pursue policies that limit the industry’s power.
In the Amazon case, the announcement Tuesday is preliminary. Amazon now has a chance to respond to the charges. It can take many months, or even years, before a fine and other penalties are announced. The commission also could reach a settlement with Amazon, or the case could be dropped.
The European Commission said it had also started a parallel investigation of Amazon policies around its “buy box,” an important piece of real estate on Amazon’s website that makes it easy for consumers to quickly click to make a purchase.
The commission is studying whether Amazon gives preferential treatment for the buy box to its own products and those of other sellers that pay to use Amazon’s logistics services.
Amazon denied any wrongdoing.
“We disagree with the preliminary assertions of the European Commission and will continue to make every effort to ensure it has an accurate understanding of the facts,” the company said in a statement. “No company cares more about small businesses or has done more to support them over the past two decades than Amazon.”