EU General Court Partially Suspends DSA Rules for Amazon

The European Union (EU) General Court has reportedly partly suspended a European Commission (EC) decision that required Amazon to publish a detailed database of advertisements it receives.

The Wednesday (Sept. 27) decision comes in the first round of a dispute between the EU and the tech giant, Bloomberg reported Thursday (Sept. 28).

The EU passed the Digital Services Act (DSA) last year, aiming to hold powerful firms accountable for combating illegal content on their platform, the report said. As part of the act, online marketplaces like Amazon that are designated as a “very large online platform” are required to trace sellers on their platform, provide methods for customers to flag illegal content, and randomly test for illegal products.

In April, the EU label Amazon as a “very large online platform,” alongside rivals such as Google Shopping and Alibaba, according to the report.

In July, Amazon challenged the EU’s decision, leading the Luxembourg-based court to issue a provisional order completely suspending the EU’s decision, the report said.

“The DSA was designed to address systemic risks posed by very large companies with advertising as their primary revenue and that distribute speech and information,” Amazon said in a statement provided to PYMNTS at the time. “We agree with the EC’s objective and are committed to protecting customers from illegal products and content, but Amazon doesn’t fit this description of a ‘Very Large Online Platform’ (VLOP) under the DSA and therefore should not be designated as such.”

The EU commissioner for internal market, Thierry Breton, pushed back against this in August, when the DSA was about to go into effect.

“Complying with the DSA is not a punishment — it is an opportunity for platforms to reinforce their trustworthiness,” Breton said at the time. 

In the decision announced Wednesday, the court issued a new order that supersedes the previous one, partially suspending the EC’s decision, per the Bloomberg report.

Amazon told Bloomberg that it welcomed this decision as an important first step, stating that it does not fit the description of a “very large online platform” and should not be designated as such. The company said it looks forward to working closely with the EC regarding its other obligations under the Digital Services Act.