The European Commission has struck a deal with Amazon that will see the US online retail giant make major changes to its business practices, in order to avoid hefty fines. The settlement follows EU antitrust investigations that found Amazon was giving itself unfair advantages over rival merchants.
ADVERTISEMENTThe European Commission has struck a deal with Amazon that will see the American online retail giant make major changes to its business practices, in order to avoid hefty fines.
It follows EU antitrust investigations that found Amazon was giving itself unfair advantages over rival merchants.
"Today the Commission has accepted commitments offered by Amazon", said Margrethe Vestager, EU Commissioner for Competition.
"These commitments, they address our preliminary concerns about Amazon's practises and its e-commerce marketplace", she added.
Through this settlement, Amazon vowed to stop using non-public data from independent sellers, while giving customers clearer choices, and Prime members more delivery options.
Amazon promised to give products from rival sellers equal visibility in the “buy box,” a premium piece of real estate on its website that leads to higher sales.
The commission said it has accepted the commitments from Amazon, which allows the company to avoid a legal battle with the EU’s top antitrust watchdog that could have ended with huge fines, worth up to 10% of its annual worldwide revenue.
It's the latest step by EU authorities to clamp down on the power of Big Tech companies and comes just a day after the Commission accused Facebook parent Meta of distorting competition in the classified ads business.
The agreement only applies to Amazon’s business practices in Europe and will last for seven years.
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