EU Margrethe Vestager has reportedly accused Amazon of misusing the data it collects from third-party sellers. The European Commission says Amazon is systematically using non-public marketplace seller data to unfairly compete with sellers in France and Germany.
The accusations are the result of an investigation that was announced last year which looked at how Amazon uses sales data to compete with the platform’s independent merchants.
Vestager said: The Commission believes that very large quantities of non-public seller data” are used to help Amazon’s retail business “to the detriment of the other marketplace sellers. Amazon will have the opportunity to respond to these claims in the coming weeks.
It said: The Commission’s preliminary view, outlined in its Statement of Objections, is that the use of non-public marketplace seller data allows Amazon to avoid the normal risks of retail competition and to leverage its dominance in the market for the provision of marketplace services in France and Germany – the biggest markets for Amazon in the EU.
In a statement, Amazon said it disagreed with the Commission’s allegations, adding that it will continue to make every effort to ensure it has an accurate understanding of the facts.
It said: “No company cares more about small businesses or has done more to support them over the past two decades than Amazon,” the company said. “There are more than 150,000 European businesses selling through our stores that generate tens of billions of Euros in revenues annually and have created hundreds of thousands of jobs.”
The Commission also announced today that it is opening a second antitrust investigation into the company to look at whether it gives preferential treatment to its own retail offers and marketplace sellers that use its logistics and delivery services. In particular, this investigation will look at how Amazon decides which merchant to link to using its Buy Box.
In a statement Margrethe Vestager said: “Data on the activity of third party sellers should not be used to the benefit of Amazon when it acts as a competitor to these sellers. The conditions of competition on the Amazon platform must also be fair. Its rules should not artificially favour Amazon’s own retail offers or advantage the offers of retailers using Amazon’s logistics and delivery services.”
The EU’s press release that there is no legal deadline for when its antitrust investigation will reach its conclusion. However, if found guilty, The Wall Street Journal notes that Amazon could be fined as much as 10 percent of its annual global revenue.
