Amazon under fire in Europe while Germany adds an antitrust investigation

The "dual role" of Amazon.com Inc., as the leading distributor in Germany and the leading online provider of small stores, is subject to an antitrust investigation into the terms that the company defines for other sellers, announced the Federal Cartel Office.
The survey of Amazon's largest market, outside the United States, adds to the European Union's attention on whether the company collects information on the successes of rival vendors to help launching its own products.
German regulators said they received "many" complaints from sellers. Europe is a difficult regulatory environment for large technology companies, with Google-imposed fines, a heavy tax bill for Apple, and the threat of new laws online platforms treat their customers. The German competition authority is also investigating on Facebook whether it imposes unjust terms of confidentiality on users.
"Amazon works as a kind of guardian for customers," said Andreas Mundt, head of the Bundeskartellamt, in a press release sent via email.
"Its dual role as the largest retailer and largest market has the potential to annoy other sellers on its platform." Amazon "will cooperate with the Bundeskartellamt and continue its efforts to support small and medium-sized businesses and help them grow," said in an e-mail statement.
Amazon shares were down 0.9% in pre-market transactions in New York yesterday.
Mundt will review the general conditions and related practices that violate antitrust rules. This includes liability clauses that could put sellers at a disadvantage, contractual clauses limiting Amazon's lawsuits, rules on product valuations, and the "non-transparent" process of blocking and closing sellers' accounts. The investigation will also examine the possibility of withholding or delaying payment and clauses that grant rights of use information that a seller must provide on the products that he proposes and the conditions general sales terms.
German authorities have to prove that Amazon occupies a "dominant position" or that sellers depend on the company. "There are indications of both," he said in his press release, adding that it was envisaged "a potential market for market services for online sales to consumers".
If regulators prove their case, they would put forward online platforms on how they treat users, giving up the old way of looking at buyers or sellers.
EU governments largely supported the new draft rules yesterday on how online platforms should treat customers fairly, including setting clear terms of service and improving the way they handle complaints. . They must always negotiate the final version of the rules with European lawmakers, who still have to vote for what they want to see.
It is unusual for a smaller European antitrust authority to conduct a survey similar to that conducted by the EU. The German Cartel Office has insisted that its file complements the EU's preliminary investigation.