Athira Sethu
Kochi, 22 November 2024
Amazon is likely to be investigated next year by the European Union as a possible grant of discriminatory preference to its products on its online marketplace. EU regulators have the intention of looking into whether Amazon is violating the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a new regulation that is intended to restrain the powers of big tech firms. If Amazon is found guilty, it could face up to a 10% fine based on its revenues made globally every year.
The new EU antitrust chief, Terera Ribera, who will assume office next month, will make a decision regarding whether she will initiate an investigation. This is despite Amazon saying it complies with the regulations outlined by the DMA and has been engaged with the European Commission to ensure that its services comply with those regulations. The DMA, which came into effect a year ago, is expected to end companies like Amazon from giving more prominence to their own products or services against others on their platforms.
In March, the European Commission said it was collecting information on how Amazon treats its own brand products on its marketplace. Amazon said in its report that its ranking system does not favor products from Amazon over others. It says that ranking is supposed to be treated equitably between products from Amazon and third-party sellers.
Other significant tech companies, including Apple, Google (Alphabet), and Meta (Facebook), are being probed under the DMA. The results of these investigations could have an impact on how Amazon and others do business in Europe.
