The E.U. is expected to launch an antitrust probe into Amazon's business practices

guest · Jul 16, 2019

The E.U. is expected to launch an antitrust probe into Amazon's business practices
Third party sellers feel they're being undecut by the giant
July 16, 2019
https://www.techspot.com/news/80980...ntitrust-probe-amazon-business-practices.html

In brief: The European Union’s competition commissioner is said to launch an antitrust investigation into Amazon soon, building on top of a previous probe into the company’s practices around using data from third-party sellers, which could help it gain an unfair competitive advantage.
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A Bloomberg report says the competition commissioner is readying her last blow for the end of her current term against Amazon, with a formal announcement expected in the next few days.

The investigation shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone, as Vestager had already launched a preliminary probe last year into Amazon’s business model. In a CNBC interview, she commented on how the company is using Amazon Marketplace to host small third-party sellers, while also being their biggest competitor.

Amazon’s second-largest market, Germany, started its own probe into the company after receiving a storm of complaints from small retailers who feel at a disadvantage.
It’s worth noting that across the ocean, the U.S. FTC has also taken a keen interest in how the company uses that data, on top of looking into how the company might be abusing its fulfillment service.
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guest · Jul 17, 2019

The EU antitrust probe into Amazon is now official, could lead to a $23 billion fine
This could be the biggest fine yet
July 17, 2019
https://www.techspot.com/news/80997-eu-antitrust-probe-amazon-now-official-could-lead.html

Today, Margrethe Vestager has made it official and added a number of comments that detail the main concerns about the company. In her statement, the commissioner promised to take "a very close look at Amazon's business practices and its dual role as marketplace and retailer," underlining the importance of fair competition in e-commerce where an abundance of choice is drawing in a growing number of European consumers.

To put things in perspective, if Amazon is found to have breached EU competition law, it could face one of the biggest fines yet for a tech company -- up to $23 billion, or 10% of its global sales in 2018.
Today's announcement ironically comes just hours after Germany's Federal Cartel Office dropped its seven month investigation into Amazon's business practices, after convincing the company to amend its agreements with small sellers in the country.
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The Hammer · Jul 17, 2019

mood said: ↑

The EU antitrust probe into Amazon is now official, could lead to a $23 billion fine
This could be the biggest fine yet
July 17, 2019
https://www.techspot.com/news/80997-eu-antitrust-probe-amazon-now-official-could-lead.html
Click to expand...

Probably chump change for them. I'm sure they can afford it.

guest · Jul 17, 2019

The Hammer said: ↑

Probably chump change for them. I'm sure they can afford it.
Click to expand...

They will go to court, and bury the dossier under tons of counter-arguments that will last several decades then people pushing the antitrust bill will be retired or die. Lol.

guest · Nov 9, 2019

Amazon Is Accused of Forcing Up Prices in Antitrust Complaint
November 8, 2019
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...lays-out-antitrust-case-in-letter-to-congress

In a letter sent to federal lawmakers, an online merchant has accused Amazon.com Inc. of forcing him and other sellers to use the company’s expensive logistics services, which in turn forces them to raise prices for consumers.

The complaint, based on an analysis of thousands of Amazon transactions over several years involving more than 100 products, turns all of that thinking on its head. It accuses Amazon of “tying” its marketplace and logistics services together, an antitrust violation in which a company uses dominance in one market to give itself an advantage in another market where it’s less established.

“When it comes to Amazon’s dealings with third-party merchants, some of the conduct actually does lend itself to antitrust scrutiny,” said Hal Singer, an antitrust expert and Georgetown University adjunct professor retained by the merchant to work on the analysis.
The merchant, who received that survey, says he can’t pursue an antitrust case himself because he agreed to binding arbitration when he began selling products on Amazon. But he hopes the Federal Trade Commission, which is already interviewing merchants, will investigate or that a logistics company will file suit, alleging it is losing business due to Amazon's practices.
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