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Under the Digital Services Act (DSA) which kicked in last year,
Amazon was designated as a very large online platform subject to
tough rules to tackle illegal and harmful content on its
platform.
The company subsequently challenged a DSA requirement to make
publicly available a repository containing detailed information
on its online advertising and also asked for an interim measure
until the court rules on the case.
A lower tribunal in September agreed to its request for an
interim measure to suspend the contested obligation, which
prompted the European Commission to turn to Europe's top court.
The Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU)
set aside the suspension order and dismissed Aamzon's
application for an interim measure.
The judge said that Amazon's argument that the obligation
unlawfully limits its fundamental rights to respect for private
life and the freedom to conduct a business was not irrelevant.
He also said that without a suspension, it was likely that
Amazon would suffer serious and irreparable harm before any
judgment annulling the Commission's decision.
However, he said a suspension could have a detrimental impact on
the objectives of the DSA.
"Suspension would lead to a delay, potentially for several
years, in the full achievement of the objectives of the
Regulation on a Single Market for Digital Services and therefore
potentially allow an online environment threatening fundamental
rights to persist or develop," the judge said.
"The interests defended by the EU legislature prevail, in the
present case, over Amazon's material interests, with the result
that the balancing of interests weighs in favour of rejecting
the request for suspension."
Amazon said: "We are disappointed with this decision, and
maintain that Amazon doesn't fit the description of a 'Very
Large Online Platform' (VLOP) under the DSA, and should not be
designated as such."
The case is C-639/23 P(R) | Commission v Amazon Services Europe.
(Reporting by Inti Landauro;Editing by Sudip Kar-Gupta and David
Evans)
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