Amazon Gets $1.28 Billion Antitrust Fine in Italy -- Update
December 09 2021 - 5:34AM
Dow Jones News
By Mauro Orru and Cecilia Butini
Italy's competition watchdog issued 1.13 billion euros ($1.28
billion) in fines to Amazon.com Inc. for alleged abuse of market
dominance, saying it had harmed operators competing for e-commerce
logistics services.
The Italian Competition Authority, or AGCM, said Thursday that
Amazon had taken steps to promote its own logistics service, known
as Fulfillment by Amazon, to strengthen its "position of absolute
dominance" to the detriment of competing operators.
The fine, the latest in a series of antitrust decisions against
big tech companies in Europe, stems from a probe that found Amazon
had tied the use of its own logistics service to advantages such as
Amazon Prime, which enhances online visibility for goods and
services.
Amazon had therefore prevented third-party sellers who didn't
use Amazon's logistics service from accessing Amazon Prime and
other advantages essential to increase online visibility and sales
prospects, AGCM said.
Competing marketplaces were also harmed as sellers who use
Amazon's logistics service are dissuaded from offering their
products on other platforms due to warehouse-storage costs, AGCM
said.
The regulator has ordered Amazon to grant third-party sellers
access to all sales and visibility privileges on its platform.
"We strongly disagree with the decision of the Italian
Competition Authority and we will appeal. The proposed fine and
remedies are unjustified and disproportionate," Amazon said in a
statement.
The decision comes less than a month after AGCM issued more than
$225 million in fines to Amazon and Apple Inc., saying they
colluded to exclude legitimate resellers of Apple and Beats audio
products from Amazon's Italian marketplace.
Italy's competition watchdog issued EUR20 million in fines to
Apple and Alphabet Inc.'s Google in late November, saying they
failed to provide clear and timely information on how they acquire
and employ users' data for commercial purposes.
In July, Amazon was fined EUR746 million by a European Union
privacy regulator for violations related to its advertising, the
largest-ever fine under the EU's data-protection law.
Write to Mauro Orru at mauro.orru@wsj.com; @MauroOrru94 and
Cecilia Butini at cecilia.butini@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 09, 2021 05:19 ET (10:19 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2021 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024