[ad_1]
European regulators have announced a formal antitrust investigation into Amazon's use of data from third parties selling on its e-commerce platform.
Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner for Competition, commented in a statement I said: "European consumers are increasingly buying online. E-commerce has stimulated competition in the retail trade and brought more choice and better prices. We must ensure that large online platforms do not eliminate these benefits through anti-competitive behavior. So I decided to take a close look at the Amazon market and its dual role as a market and retailer, in order to badess its compliance with EU competition rules."
This move is not a surprise, because Amazon was already on the radar of the Vestager department.
Last fall, it appeared that the regulator was conducting preliminary investigations into Amazon's use of third-party vendor data – to try to determine if merchants who sell on its platform are at a disadvantage compared to the competition over products sold by Amazon. access to their data.
The double-sided platforms – which host sellers in a market and sell things themselves – raise competition concerns over the use of third-party data, she said at the same time. time.
On the basis of its preliminary investigation, the Commission today declared that "Amazon" appears to use competitively sensitive information – about market sellers, their products and their market transactions. ". Although it should be emphasized, this is a preliminary conclusion that does not prejudge the outcome of the formal investigation.
The Commission has stated that its in-depth investigation into Amazon's practices will focus on:
- the standard agreements between Amazon and the market vendors, which allow its retail business to badyze and use the data of third-party sellers, indicating in particular that it will focus on "the use of the data accumulated by the seller on the market by Amazon as a retailer "
- the role of the data in the selection of the winners of the "Buy Box" and "the impact of the potential use by Amazon of information on sellers of the market sensitive to competition on this selection". The Commission notes that the "box of purchase" is "prominently displayed" on Amazon and "seems to be essential for sellers in the market because a large majority of transactions are made through it".
The purchase box – an example that can be seen in the screengrab below – refers to a coveted section of the Amazon website where consumers viewing a product can click to add it to their cart.
The seller (s) obtaining the placement in the box will likely obtain an advantage over the competing vendors of the product.
In response to the announcement of an official investigation by the Commission, a spokeswoman for Amazon sent us this statement: "We will cooperate fully with the European Commission and will continue our efforts to support businesses of all sizes and help them grow. "
Yesterday, the e-commerce giant was among a number of technology giants questioned by US lawmakers about antitrust issues.
On both sides of the Atlantic, regulators are quickly tackling the technology sector. Although Europe led the charge, Vestager has been spearheading a number of investigations into technology giants during his tenure as head of competition, including Google and Apple surveys, as well as Amazon.
Earlier this year, the European institutions also reached agreement on new regulations designed to enhance the transparency of online platform activities and to combat unfair practices aimed at supporting operators and other businesses that depend on Internet. digital intermediates for discovery and sale.
New online platforms for fairness and transparency will likely come into force in the EU next year.
Source link
