E-commerce giant Amazon has reportedly agreed to settle two European Union antitrust cases related to the company’s alleged treatment of third-party sellers on its platform. The company will dodge any fines in relation to the cases.
The Wall Street Journal reports that Amazon has reached an agreement to resolve two antitrust cases brought by the EU concerning its practices towards third-party sellers on its platform. This marks the end of some of the EU’s most advanced cases against an American tech company.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy (Isaac Brekken/AP)
Amazon will reportedly not face a fine as part of the settlement of the two EU antitrust cases. The company had initially proposed the settlement in July and will be required to adhere to certain commitments that aim to change business practices deemed harmful to third-party sellers by EU regulators for a period of up to seven years.
Under the terms of the settlement, Amazon has agreed to provide equal opportunities to third-party sellers using its platform to be selected as the default option for the buttons in the Amazon buy box and to qualify for its Prime shipping program. Additionally, the company has committed to refrain from using non-public data about sellers on its marketplace to compete against them.
The settlement resolves the allegations made by the EU that Amazon violated competition law by using non-public information from merchants to compete against them. The charges were brought against the company two years ago, and the EU has also been investigating potential charges related to the buy box and Prime program.
On Tuesday, Amazon stated that it continues to disagree with several of the EU’s allegations regarding its business practices. However, the company chose to engage in a settlement in order to maintain its ability to serve customers and businesses in Europe.
Read more at the Wall Street Journal here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan
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