European Union: Adopted Amazon commitments addressing allegation of non-public data usage by EU Commission

On 20 December 2022, the European Commission announced that it has accepted Amazon's commitments regarding the use of non-public data and is closing its competition investigation into the company’s conduct. In its preliminary findings, the Commission alleged that Amazon is using non-public data collected from competing sellers to favour its products and that such actions distort fair and effective competition. In order to address the anticompetitive conduct allegations raised by the Commission, Amazon committed that it will not use non-public data from sellers using its marketplace for its retail services. The non-public data includes aggregate and individual data on sales, delivery, user behavioural data and sellers’ performance. Furthermore, the company committed to applying this principle to its automated tools and employees working on economic development activities. Finally, Amazon committed to improving the carrier data protection systems. Amazon’s commitments are legally binding for a period of 7 years. In case of non-compliance, Amazon faces a fine amounting to 10% of its annual turnover or a periodic penalty of 5% per day of its daily turnover.