Amazon Set to Face Antitrust Charges in European Union

The European Union is set to lodge formal antitrust charges against Amazon in respect of its use of data from third parties. The charges, which might be submitted as shortly as next week, will subsequently accuse Amazon of competing against them using data collected from sellers on its marketplace. The case is one of government’s most intense efforts to crimp the authority of the e-commerce giant, which has primarily ignored regulation throughout its 26-year history, for nearly two years in making.

Regulators in the European Union, who have a reputation as the tech sector’s most assertive agencies in the world, have evaluated that Amazon is stifling competition by wrongly using data obtained from third-party merchants to increase its product offerings, the people who spoke on the condition of anonymity as this deliberation was confidentially stated.

It is believed that the EU investigation into the practice dates back approximately two years. Back in September 2018, EU competition bureau head Margrethe Vestager said the EU had gathered information about Amazon’s practices towards third-party sellers, but she stressed at the time that an official inquiry had yet to be initiated.

This case against Amazon is part of a more significant attempt to investigate the business strategies of the world’s leading technology companies in u.s. And Europe, as officials on both sides of the Atlantic, see what they assume is a troubling centralization of power in the digital economy.

When the European Union ends up ruling against Amazon, then this case would continue for many months to come. Also, Amazon could be forced to alter its business model. And finish it with an annual turnover of up to 10 percent.

Also, Amazon agreed to conduct an internal inquiry but the report created revived criticism by US lawmakers. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee wrote to ask the organization to explain its data policies because it has earlier agreed not to use data from specific vendors to deal directly with them on its website.