European Union: Adopted Amazon commitments addressing allegation of anti-competitive practices in the e-commerce sector by EU Commission

Description

Adopted Amazon commitments addressing allegation of anti-competitive practices in the e-commerce sector by EU Commission

On 20 December 2022, the European Commission announced that it had accepted Amazon's commitments addressing allegations of abuse of dominance in the online marketplace and closed its investigation into the company’s conduct. In particular, the Commission found that Amazon discriminates against third-party sellers that don’t use its logistic and delivery services and that its rules for “Buy Box” and “Prime” artificially favour its retail services. In order to address the allegations, Amazon made several commitments. Firstly, the company will apply ”equal treatment” to all its business users for the selection of the Buy Box winner and will display a second “Buy Box” for sellers of the same good that provide a different offer. The presentation of the second competing Buy Box will also be improved. Secondly, Amazon committed to changing its criteria and rules for the “Prime” qualification to ensure non-discriminatory treatment. Thirdly, Amazon noted that it would permit its Prime business users to select any logistic and delivery services provider. Finally, Amazon agreed not to use the performance data from third-party carriers for its delivery and delivery services. 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.

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Scope

Policy Area
Competition
Policy Instrument
Unilateral conduct regulation
Regulated Economic Activity
platform intermediary: e-commerce
Implementation Level
supranational
Government Branch
executive
Government Body
central government

Complete timeline of this policy change

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2020-11-10
under deliberation

On 10 November 2020, the European Commission opened an investigation into Amazon over alleged anti-…

2021-10-14
under investigation

On 14 October 2021, the EU General Court issued its ruling regarding Amazon.com Inc’s action for an…

2022-07-14
in consultation

On 14 July 2022, the European Commission opened a public consultation on the commitments it has rec…

2022-09-09
processing consultation

On 9 September 2022, the consultation on Amazon's commitments addressing allegations of abuse of do…

2022-12-20
concluded

On 20 December 2022, the European Commission announced that it had accepted Amazon's commitments ad…

2023-04-20
under investigation

On 20 April 2023, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued its ruling regarding Amazon.com Inc’s …