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The
European Commission has been investigating Amazon's dual role -
as a marketplace for merchants and also a rival seller - since
July last year, triggered by complaints from traders about the
company's practices.
It has also looked into how Amazon uses competitively sensitive
merchant data to select winners for its "buy box", which allows
customers to add items from a specific retailer directly into
their shopping carts.
"We must ensure that dual-role platforms with market power, such
as Amazon, do not distort competition," said Vestager, the EU's
competition commissioner, has a reputation of being one of the
world's toughest antitrust regulators.
"Data on the activity of third-party sellers should not be used
to the benefit of Amazon when it act as a competitor to these
sellers. The conditions of competition on the Amazon platform
must also be fair."
The second investigation is into the possible preferential
treatment of Amazon's own retail offers and those of marketplace
sellers that use Amazon's logistics and delivery services.
Amazon disagreed with the EU charges.
The company can ask for a closed door hearing to defend itself.
An EU decision could come next year.
The charges come as the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified Amazon's
role in the global economy, with online sales soaring.
Under Vestager's watch, the EU has imposed large fines on
Alphabet's Google and other companies.
The crackdown on Big Tech's power has also spread to the United
States, where the Trump administration last month filed a
historic monopoly lawsuit against Google.
(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Additional reporting by Radhika
Anilkumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Pravin Char)
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