Germany: Bundeskartellamt expands proceedings in antitrust investigation against Amazon

On 14 November 2022, the German Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) announced that it will make use of the amendment of Section19(a) of the German Competition Act (GWB) in the two ongoing proceedings against Amazon. Section19(a) gives Bundeskartellamt additional powers to regulate large digital companies. The amendment also allows Bundeskartellamt to intervene more effectively and at earlier stages in investigations against companies that have a “paramount significance for competition across markets”. The first proceeding examines whether Amazon exercises influence on the visibility and pricing of third-party sellers on its marketplace through price control mechanisms and algorithms. The second proceeding examines “brandgating” and the extent to which certain agreements that give brand manufacturers exclusive rights to sell brand name merchandise affect marketplace sellers and violate competition law.