Germany fines Amazon for price gouging on competitors

The German antitrust regulator has taken action against Amazon due to illegal price restrictions for sellers on the platform. The company blocked competitors' products if their price exceeded a set threshold. About this reports The time.

Germany's Federal Cartel Office is demanding 59 million euros from Amazon for violating antitrust laws, the first time the regulator has used the mechanism to confiscate profits made through anticompetitive behavior.

Amazon did not allow sellers on its marketplace to set prices above a certain level. Products that did not meet these requirements were removed from the platform.

"Amazon competes directly with other marketplace sellers on its platform," said Cartel Office President Andreas Mundt.

He emphasized that influencing competitors' pricing is permitted only in exceptional cases, such as inflating prices.

The cartel office stressed that the amount of 59 million euros is preliminary as the infringement is ongoing.

Amazon Marketplace accounts for 60% of online retail sales in Germany. Of these, 60% are generated by third-party sellers, the rest by the company itself.

Amazon Germany CEO Rocco Brauniger has already announced his intention to appeal.

"If Amazon is now required to exclusively advertise uncompetitive or even abusive prices in the store, it will lead to a poor shopping experience," Brauniger explained.

He also accused the Cartel Office of creating a unique German regulation that "directly contradicts EU competition law standards."

• Italian Antitrust Authority (AGCM) fined the American technology giant Apple and two of its divisions for 98.6 million euros for alleged abuse of a dominant position in the mobile applications market.