European Commission launches antitrust investigation into Amazon

Brussels wants clarity on whether Amazon undermines competition with its position as both retailer and marketplace

Economy 10:43 18.07.2019

The European Commission has opened an official investigation into Amazon’s business practices amid concerns the retail giant maintains an unfair relationship with its vast array of third-party sellers, The Week writes.

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement that she intended to take a “very close look” at the tension between Amazon’s dual role as retailer and marketplace, to establish if it is in breach of EU antitrust laws.

estager, who is in charge of competition policy, said: “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.”

The Financial Times quotes Andrea Collart, competition partner at Avisa Partners, saying: “It is an important move and a statement against the big tech giants. The feeling is that Amazon is so present in so many markets that it is too big to regulate. Competition enforcement can be the sling used by David to defeat Goliath.”

Read more:

The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, says: “While Amazon’s platform has created opportunities for millions of small and midsize retailers globally, it has also given the company a window into which products sell well on the site and at what price.”

It adds: “Many sellers privately complain about Amazon’s power to undercut them on price and to introduce a similar product based on the copious amount of data it collects.”

As well as investigating the standard agreements between Amazon and marketplace sellers, Brussels said it will also examine “the role of data in the selection of the winners of the ‘Buy Box’”.

This is the box on the right side of the product details page where shoppers can click “Buy Now”. For products with multiple sellers, Amazon has an algorithm to determine which one is represented in the box.

“Winning the ‘Buy Box’ seems key for marketplace sellers as a vast majority of transactions are done through it,” the Commission said. 

Amazon has said: “We will co-operate fully with the European Commission and continue working hard to support businesses of all sizes and help them grow.”

As The New York Times reports, on Tuesday, “representatives of Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google were sharply criticized by lawmakers in Washington over the companies’ market dominance”.

At the hearing on Capitol Hill, Amazon’s lawyer, Nate Sutton, rebutted similar accusations as those levelled by Brussels. “The data on popularity of products - like much retail data - is actually public data”, he said at the hearing. “For each of our products, you can see where it’s ranked, how popular it is. We do not use any of that specific seller data in creating our own private brand products.”

In his written statement to Congress, Sutton clarified just how integral to Amazon’s retail business third-party sales have become for the trillion-dollar enterprise. Since 1999, “third-party sales have grown from 3% of the total, to 58% of our total physical gross merchandise sales”.

The setback for Amazon comes after its Prime Day weekend, which it claimed was “once again the largest shopping event in history”. The company revealed that sales from the bonanza surpassed those from last year’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined.

Read more:

IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

Palestinian man shot dead after stabbing Israeli soldier during West Bank raid
21:20 10.07.2025
Israel has agreed to 'significant steps' to improve humanitarian situation in Gaza: EU foreign policy chief
21:00 10.07.2025
EU aims to mobilize up to $11.7B in investments for Ukraine's reconstruction
20:45 10.07.2025
UNAIDS warns funding collapse could lead to 6M new HIV infections, 4M deaths
20:30 10.07.2025
UN report sounds alarm on climate health risks for world's aging population
20:00 10.07.2025
Merz: Germany fully supports Ukraine's plans to join EU
19:45 10.07.2025
Azerbaijani citizens involved in Wagner armed group arrested - State Security Service conducts operation
19:15 10.07.2025
Luka Modric signs one-year contract with Milan
19:00 10.07.2025
Rubio: US hopes to persuade NATO allies to transfer some Patriot systems to Ukraine
18:45 10.07.2025
Zelenskyy: 200 agreements with total value of over €10B ready to be signed
18:30 10.07.2025
Von der Leyen's EU Commission survives Parliament confidence vote
18:15 10.07.2025
SOCAR becomes jersey sponsor of Turkish First League side
18:00 10.07.2025
Azerbaijan takes leading postion in UN digital trade survey
17:45 10.07.2025
Ex-NBA player Ben McLemore sentenced to over 8 years in prison for rape
17:30 10.07.2025
Russia warns Armenia of sanctions risk
17:15 10.07.2025
COP29 President, COP30 President-designate hold discussions at OPEC seminar
17:00 10.07.2025
Ilham Aliyev's meeting with Nikol Pashinyan was constructive
16:55 10.07.2025
Baku says Azerbaijan, Armenia agreed to continue dialogue in bilateral format
16:45 10.07.2025
Peskov: Baku-Yerevan peace treaty will bring stability to South Caucasus
16:30 10.07.2025
Azerbaijan refunds over 94M manats of VAT to consumers
16:15 10.07.2025
Amnesty International slams US sanctions on UN Rapporteur Francesca Albanese
16:00 10.07.2025
China pushes back 50% US 'security' tariffs on copper imports
15:45 10.07.2025
Top Southeast Asian diplomats hold summit with China’s foreign minister
15:30 10.07.2025
Israeli strikes on Gaza leave 97 Palestinians killed, dozens more injured in past day
15:15 10.07.2025
Messi creates history in MLS, becomes first player to achieve rare feat
15:00 10.07.2025
Heavy rain delays over 300 flights in New Delhi
14:45 10.07.2025
Shamakhi to host conference on Modern Information Space and Freedom of Religious Belief
14:30 10.07.2025
At least 28 killed, dozens injured in pre-dawn Israeli strikes across Gaza Strip
14:15 10.07.2025
Court orders arrest of former South Korean president
14:00 10.07.2025
US nuclear-powered submarine makes first port call in Iceland
13:45 10.07.2025
Israeli soldier killed during attempted Hamas abduction in southern Gaza, IDF says
13:30 10.07.2025
ADY and China Railways reach agreement to increase BTK capacity
13:15 10.07.2025
U.S. measles cases hit highest level in 33 years,
13:00 10.07.2025
Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia discuss co-op in hydrocarbon sector
12:45 10.07.2025
UK, France to order more Storm Shadow missiles, plan next-generation replacements
12:30 10.07.2025
Houthis kidnapped crew members of Eternity C vessel, US Embassy in Yemen says
12:15 10.07.2025
President Ilham Aliyev addresses participants of ICDO General Assembly session
12:00 10.07.2025
US to impose 50% tariffs on imports from Brazil starting August — Trump
11:45 10.07.2025
US resumes certain arms shipments to Ukraine
11:30 10.07.2025
SOCAR president participates in OPEC International Seminar
11:15 10.07.2025
Hamısı