EU files antitrust charges against Amazon over use of data

The EU investigation found that Amazon is accessing and analysing real-time data from other vendors that sell goods on its platform to help it decide which new products of its own to launch and how to price and market them. — AP

LONDON: European Union regulators filed antitrust charges on Nov 10 against Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of using its access to data from companies that sell products on its platform to gain an unfair advantage over them.

The charges, filed two years after the bloc's antitrust enforcer began looking into the company, are the latest effort by European regulators to curb the power of big technology companies. Margrethe Vestager, the EU commissioner in charge of competition issues, has slapped Google with antitrust fines totaling nearly US$10bil (RM41.2bil) and opened twin antitrust investigations this summer into Apple. The EU's executive Commission also opened a second investigation on Nov 10 into whether Amazon favours product offers and merchants that use its own logistics and delivery system.