In the eyes of the antitrust authority: abuse proceedings against Amazon

The Cartel Office has opened a case against Amazon. The agency wants to review the terms and conditions and practices of the US group for resellers on the German market.

The Bundeskartellamt is targeting the online giant Amazon. The authority opened a procedure for abuse against the US company, said the guard of the competition. Amazon.de, by far the largest online market of the Federal Republic.

The Cartel Office would like to review Amazon's terms and practices from dealers present. Because Amazon has a dual role – the US group is by far the largest online retailer in Germany and also operates an Internet marketplace, which is sold on products from other suppliers.

Amazon acts in a way as a "guardian" of the customers, the agents of the competition. This dual role carries the potential for disability of other traders on the platform.

Does Amazon use his position?

Antitrust supervisors follow complaints from traders offering products on the market. The authority also works with the European Commission.

"We will check if Amazon is exploiting its position in the market at the expense of traders operating in the market," said cartel boss Andreas Mundt. "The terms and conditions and behaviors of Amazon against the dealers are therefore put to the test."

Amazon has not received any comments yet.

Quite improbable

Potentially abusive conditions include, inter alia, liability rules at the expense of dealers, rules on product reviews, non-transparent terminations and closing of merchant accounts, said the cartel office.

The prerequisites to antitrust investigation include a dominant position of the Internet company and the fact that dealers are dependent on Amazon. "There are indications for both," said the Antitrust Authority.

If suspicion arose during the abuse proceedings, the antitrust authorities could force the US company to put an end to the practices in dispute. A fine is not to be expected.

"Protection of competition"

Last September, the European Commission announced that it was scrutinizing Amazon to process merchant sales data on its market platform. The procedure of the Federal Cartel Office and the procedure of the commission were completed, said the Bonn authority.

"Our main goal is the protection of competition in the digital economy," Mundt had already announced in the past. The Authority's objective is to keep markets open and protect the interests of consumers.