Amazon has concluded two European Commission antitrust probes into its e-commerce marketplace.
The news was made public on Tuesday. As part of the deal, Amazon promised to adjust the business practices that came under antitrust scrutiny over the past few years.
Amazon’s e-commerce marketplace hosts many third-party merchants selling products. Amazon sometimes competes with third-party products by selling or promoting similar items.
This business strategy was the subject of the EU’s first major antitrust probe into Amazon, which has now been resolved. In 2019, the EU launched an investigation to determine whether Amazon had unfairly used data on third-party merchants to favour its own products and the products of partners.
Investigation
The deal announced on Tuesday involves Amazon’s commitment to stop using such data for the benefit of its own goods. Employees and automated processes will not have access to third-party information covered by the deal.
Furthermore, Amazon settled a second EU antitrust investigation that began in 2020. This case concentrated on the company’s Prime subscription plan, which gives consumers discounts and other perks as a monthly subscription.
Offering a product through Prime can boost sales for third-party retailers. According to a statement issued by the EU today, Amazon has agreed to establish non-discriminatory restrictions and standards for qualifying marketplace sellers and offers on Prime.
Amazon commits
Many of the promises made were initially proposed in July. At the time, the EU demanded improvements in key areas, which have since been made. Amazon promised to introduce a second Buy Box for competing products and intends to add and develop a review process to ensure the feature attracts user attention.
Furthermore, the organization will provide third-party merchants with additional information regarding its shipping rules. In addition, Amazon promised to apply new business standards in its Prime program for at least seven years.
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