Germany: Closed investigation into Amazon for alleged abuse of dominance after amendments to terms of business

On 17 July 2019, the German Competition Authority (Bundeskartellamt) closed its proceedings against Amazon for abusing its dominance in the online retail market by having opaque and inconsistent terms of business in place. The Bundeskartellamt had received numerous complaints about Amazon disadvantaging sellers. This was done through non-transparent account cancellations, extensive information rights, delayed or withheld payments, as well as disadvantageous jurisdiction clauses. Amazon has committed to increasing the transparency and searchability of its terms and conditions. Amazon will also notify all sellers of changes to its terms 15 days in advance. Termination of accounts must be informed 30 days in advance. The Bundeskartellamt found that these measures eradicate the existing competition concerns and closed its investigation.