Amazon has agreed to give sellers operating in the European Union greater access to valuable real estate on its website, the European Commission said on Tuesday, in a deal that ends antitrust investigations by regulators who said the company has lost its size and power. had used to competition in the block.
The settlement helps Amazon avoid a multibillion-dollar fine, while giving the European Commission, the European Union’s executive branch, a victory in pushing long overdue changes to the world’s dominant online shopping platform. Under the deal, the company will also be barred from using any non-public information it collects about independent sellers to inform Amazon’s own product choices.
The deal is an attempt to put more guardrails between Amazon’s roles as a digital retailer that many sellers depend on to reach customers and as a maker of products that often compete with third-party sellers. The dual roles have created conflicts of interest, critics say, allowing Amazon to favor its own products and services over small rivals that have few other ways to reach customers online.
“Today’s decision sets new rules for how Amazon does business in Europe,” said Margrethe Vestager, the European Commission’s executive vice president overseeing digital policy and antitrust enforcement. “Amazon can no longer abuse its dual role and will have to change several business practices.”
She added: “Competitive independent retailers and carriers, as well as consumers, will benefit.”
An Amazon spokesperson said the company was “happy that we have addressed the concerns of the European Commission”.
“While we still disagree with some of the preliminary conclusions drawn by the European Commission,” said the spokesperson, “we have engaged constructively to ensure that we continue to serve customers across Europe and serve Europe’s 225,000 small and medium-sized businesses that sell through our stores.”
Already seen as the world’s most active regulator of the technology industry, the European Union is now acting even more aggressively. On Monday, antitrust regulators filed suit against Meta that could result in billions of dollars in fines for anti-competitive practices related to its marketplace service for selling goods. Apple and Google are also investigating possible antitrust violations.
Businesses are also scrambling to comply with new EU laws targeting the technology sector due to come into force in 2024. The rules give regulators even more authority to crack down on what are perceived as anti-competitive business practices and force social media companies to more actively monitor user-generated content.
The Amazon deal announced Tuesday closely follows a tentative deal announced in July. Under the settlement, Amazon has agreed to:
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Give independent merchants equal access to the Buy Box — the purchase area with prominent buttons on the listing that prompt customers to “Buy Now” or “Add to Cart.” Amazon said it would make a second offer box if there was enough difference in price or delivery time.
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Stop using non-public data about sellers selling on its website, including terms of sale, revenue, and inventory, that Amazon could use to make decisions about which competitive products to make, sell, and promote.
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Allow third-party sellers to participate in Amazon’s Prime program, even if they don’t use Amazon’s logistics operations, if they meet certain delivery and service reliability standards.
The settlement lasts for five years and legally only applies to Amazon’s operations in the European Union.
