European Commission investigating whether Amazon is misusing seller data

The European Commission has launched a preliminary investigation into Amazon’s use of merchant data. The online department store sells products itself, but also allows other traders. As a result, Amazon knows a lot about its competitors.

Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition, has announced in a press conference that she will ask many vendors questions to “fully understand the subject,” according to Reuters. The European Commission is questioning parties who sell their goods on Amazon of their own accord. The online department store competes with those parties because it also sells products itself. The objection is that Amazon uses data from those sellers for its own sales.

According to Vestager, the investigation is in its early stages and no official case has yet been opened. The European Commissioner first wants to have ‘a complete picture’. Amazon has not yet responded to the allegations.

If the European Commission launches a formal investigation and concludes that there is unfair competition, the Commission can impose a fine of ten percent of worldwide annual turnover. Such cases often take years.