German Antitrust Authority Expands Amazon Probe

Germany’s competition watchdog, the Bundeskartellamt (BKartA) announced on Monday (Nov. 14) that it has extended two ongoing proceedings against Amazon to make use of an amendment to the German Competition Act that grants the BKartA additional powers to regulate large digital companies.

In the first probe, the BKartA is examining Amazon’s algorithmic price control mechanisms, by which it sets the price of third-party sellers’ listings seen by customers. The authority claims the process can make it difficult for consumers to find offers by sellers and even lead to these offers no longer being visible.

The second investigation is into a practice the authority calls “brandgating,” in which the BKartA is examining possible disadvantages for marketplace sellers caused by various instruments applied by Amazon, including agreements with brands on whether individual sellers can or cannot sell their products on the Amazon marketplace.

“We are examining in both proceedings whether and how Amazon impedes the business opportunities of sellers that are active on the Amazon marketplace and compete with Amazon’s own retail business,” Andreas Mundt, president of the BKartA, stated in the release.

“Amazon operates the most important marketplace in eCommerce and thus has a key position in that area, which allows the company to set far-reaching rules for competition on its platform. Our new competencies, which are precisely intended to restrict such power to set rules, allow us to intervene more efficiently against Amazon’s anti-competitive practices,” he added.

Among the litany of antitrust probes being carried out against Amazon’s eCommerce business, many relate to allegations that the platform unfairly preferences its own products and services.

For example, both the EU’s Competition Commission and the U.K.’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) are investigating how Amazon sets criteria for the allocation of suppliers to be the first choice in the Buy Box.

Read more: Amazon Faces UK Antitrust Probe Over Sales Practices

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