EC Report Sees Antitrust Concerns In eCommerce

The European Commission, which operates as the antitrust watchdog in the European Union, said on Thursday (Sept. 15) that there may be probes into eCommerce practices across a wide range of companies, from digital firms to consumer product enterprises.

The warning, The Wall Street Journal noted, came as the EC released its preliminary report on possible antitrust violations tied to online sales. The report stated that as much as 40 percent of online retailers reported that contractual restrictions were in place or recommendations were issued from manufacturers as to what prices could be quoted and offered to end buyers. Roughly 18 percent of retailers, said the EC, had restrictions placed on them via manufacturers keeping them from selling goods across online marketplaces.

That truncation of the flow of goods in eCommerce has been termed by the EU to be “selective distribution” — hobbling, at least in part, where retailers can sell, in which countries and which versions of products can be sold.

With some attention on content distribution, the EC also said movement of entertainment, from TV shows to music, may be onerous enough that competition is less than robust, as new entrants find it a tough arena in which firms can get licenses or, as WSJ noted, foster new business models.

No individual companies were named in the report. As WSJ noted, the EC findings represent the second release in the EU’s 18-month investigation of eCommerce, with an eye on cross-border transactions.