Posted on January 5, 2021.
Congress does not hesitate to refer to a climate of fear in describing Amazon’s relations with its resellers, citing multiple abuses of its dominant position by the e-commerce giant. Europe is now getting cracking on this matter.
Last November, the European Commission opened official proceedings against Amazon for infringement of antitrust regulations. It looked as if the EU Commission had read a damning 449-page report by Congress on Amazon’s abuse of its dominant market position.
To be sure, there are facts in the congressional report that were already known. For one thing, that Amazon forbids resellers on its platform from directly contacting clients, which restricts resellers’ competitiveness. And when goods are delivered, they are wrapped in Amazon’s distinctive packaging with its logo, even though Amazon had nothing to do with their production or sale.