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Amazon Fined in Germany Over Price-Filtering Tools
Germany's Federal Cartel Office found Amazon's pricing controls anti-competitive, ordering a €59 million repayment and barring most price restrictions on third-party sellers.
- On Thursday, Germany's Federal Cartel Office ordered Amazon to stop applying price controls on amazon.de and to return €59 million in disgorgement.
- The probe that began in November 2022 led to a preliminary FCO finding in July that Amazon breached competition rules using a disgorgement power from a 2023 competition-law reform.
- The pricing tools could remove or demote offers from third-party sellers on amazon.de, including excluding them from the Buy Box feature, and the FCO said these automated price-review mechanisms relied on non-transparent rules.
- Amazon said it will appeal the `unprecedented regulatory decision` and has one month to file an appeal with the Federal Court of Justice; the order bars most price-control mechanisms except for `excessive` pricing.
- With EU rules such as the Digital Markets Act in play, the FCO said it worked closely with the European Commission on the case involving amazon.de, which accounts for 60% of Germany's online retail sales.
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German Competition Authority Limits Amazon’s Power to Set Prices
Germany’s competition authority has taken a decisive step to curb Amazon’s ability to control pricing on its platform, signaling increased regulatory scrutiny over the e-commerce giant. In a landmark move, the German Competition Order imposes new limits on Amazon’s pricing mechanisms, aiming to foster fairer competition and protect smaller retailers. This development highlights growing concerns [...]
The Federal Cartel Office has obliged the online retailer Amazon to pay around 59 million euros due to illegal pricing.
·Germany
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Coverage Details
Total News Sources59
Leaning Left7Leaning Right6Center13Last UpdatedBias Distribution50% Center
Bias Distribution
- 50% of the sources are Center
50% Center
L 27%
C 50%
R 23%
Factuality
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