European Union: 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.