In light of the special abuse powers that are applicable to the business of Amazon in Germany this summer, Germany's antitrust watchdog has moved to widen an existing investigation.
The new instrument for more effective oversight over large digital companies will be included in the two ongoing abuse control proceedings against Amazon.
The German law is similar to the pan-EU Digital Markets Act, which will come into force next year, so the FCO is ahead of the curve here.
There are two open investigations of Amazon that are being extended to include scrutiny of whether they comply with the rebooted competition regime, one examining price control mechanisms it says are used by Amazon to algorithmically control price setting by third-party sellers on its marketplace, and the other looking at what it means
The extension of the ongoing proceeding was stated in a statement by the FCO's President.
“We are examining in both proceedings whether and how Amazon impedes the business opportunities of sellers that are active on the Amazon marketplace and compete with Amazon’s own retail business. Amazon operates the most important marketplace in e-commerce and thus has a key position in that area, which allows the company to set far-reaching rules for competition on its platform. Our new competencies, which are precisely intended to restrict such power to set rules, allow us to intervene more efficiently against Amazon’s anti-competitive practices.”
Reached for a response to the development, an Amazon spokesman sent us this statement, which confirms that it is seeking to appeal the FCO decision that it falls under the special abuse controls regime.
“We disagree with the FCO’s interpretation of this complex new legislation, and have filed an appeal. The retail market that Amazon operates in is very large and extraordinarily competitive, online and offline. We continue to cooperate with the Federal Cartel Office in these proceedings.”
The company argues that its business succeeds when sellers succeed and that third party sellers set their own prices on its marketplace.
Amazon suggests that any amendments it makes to how sellers can operate are intended to ensure a trusted shopping experience for customers, as well as protecting shoppers from illegitimate goods.
Competition scrutiny continues to pile up in Europe and beyond as Amazon continues to fight against antitrust abuse.
A Europe Union competition investigation of the ecommerce giant's use of third party seller data has been grinding on for years, and an attempt by Amazon to settle the probe this summer, by offering a set of commitments, was quickly denounced by dozens of civil society and digital rights groups as weak sauce
Margrethe Vestager warned the company that its offer wasn't good enough.
It remains to be seen where that pan-EU antitrust procedure will land, since the EU is still considering industry feedback on Amazon.
The Competition and Markets Authority in the UK is investigating whether or not Amazon has a dominant position in the market. The UK lags behind other European regulators when it comes to scrutinizing Amazon.
After years of increasing scrutiny by US lawmakers on Big Tech's market power, Amazon is fighting antitrust accusations in the US as well.
Amazon faces more antitrust scrutiny in UK and Germany
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