Italy imposes record 1,128 million fine on Amazon for hurting competition in logistics services

Amazon has been fined in Italy with a record penalty of 1,128 million euros for abusive practices aimed at favoring its logistics service on the e-commerce platform Amazon.it. The Competition and Market Authority transalpina announced this Thursday the large fine, established, according to the agency, for having harmed its competitors and thus reinforced its dominant position in the country market. The regulator’s decision, in addition to a recent battery of fines from Italy against internet giants, has called Amazon’s strategy “especially serious”. and, for this reason, it has also asked the company to remodel its systems in order to guarantee fair competition.

“We strongly disagree & rdquor; with the measure and “we will appeal & rdquor ;, Amazon has reacted. “Both the sanctions and the obligations imposed are unjustified and disproportionate & rdquor ;, the company continued, adding that its business benefits“ 18,000 small and medium-sized Italian companies that sell (their products) through Amazon & rdquor ;.

After years of passivity, Italy has in recent weeks targeted US ‘big tech’, a move that comes when these multinationals have also begun to arouse the interest of the European authorities. So much so that, less than a month ago, Apple y Google they were sentenced to pay 10 million euros, each, for omitting relevant information to consumers and illegally using their data. And, always in November, the regulator also imposed a fine of 200 million euros on Apple y Amazon for preventing the sale, on the electronic commerce platform, of the apple company’s products by resellers.

Dominant position

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In the case of now, on the other hand, the punishment to Amazon refers to the fact that it has been linked “to the use of the Amazon logistics service access to a set of essential benefits to obtain visibility and better sales prospects on Amazon.it & rdquor; , the regulator has argued. In particular, it has been pointed out, the Prime service that “makes it easier to sell to the most loyal and highly dependent consumers” and “to participate in special Amazon events, such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Prime Day and increases the probability that the seller’s offer will be selected as a Showcase Offer & rdquor ;, has been considered.

Amazon “has prevented third-party sellers from associating the Prime tag with unmanaged offers” with its fulfillment service, called Fulfill by Amazon (FBA). And also sellers using the FBA have been “discouraged from using other platforms & rdquor ;, which has widened the“ gap between the power of Amazon and the competition & rdquor ;. All this constitutes a violation of “Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union & rdquor ;, the body has added, referring to this European rule that prohibits“ the abusive exploitation of a dominant position in the internal market, or a substantial part of the same & rdquor ;.