The European Commission (EC) opens a formal antitrust investigation in Amazon-- one set to determine whether the use of sensitive data from independent retailers by the the online retail giant represents a breach of EU competition rules.
"European consumers are increasingly shopping online. E-commerce has boosted retail competition and brought more choice and better prices. We need to ensure that large online platforms don't eliminate these benefits through anti-competitive behaviour," commissioner in charge of competition policy Margrethe Vestager says. "I have therefore decided to take a very close look at Amazon's business practices and its dual role as marketplace and retailer, to assess its compliance with EU competition rules.”
While Amazon is, of course, best known as the online retail giant, it also provides a marketplace for independent sellers wanting to sell products directly to consumers. Amazon continuously collects data of the activity taking place on its platform and, according to preliminary fact-finding by the EC, Amazon appears to competitively use sensitive information about marketplace sellers, products and transactions taking place.
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