Amazon Bows to EU Pressure on Marketplace Seller Data and Access to Buy Box and Prime

The European Commission has announced that commitments made by Amazon, addressing its use of non-public seller data and possible bias relating to access to its Buy Box and Prime programme, are to be made legally binding under EU antitrust rules.

According to a recent press release, the Commission found that Amazon’s reliance on marketplace sellers’ non-public business data to calibrate its retail decisions distorted fair competition on its platform and prevented effective competition.

It also concluded that Amazon’s rules and criteria for the Buy Box and Prime unduly favour its own retail business and marketplace sellers that use Amazon’s logistics and delivery services.

How Did Amazon Comply?

In relation to the Commission’s concerns about the online marketplaces use of non-public seller data, Amazon initially committed to:

• Not to use non-public data relating to, or derived from, the independent sellers’ activities on its marketplace for its retail business. This applies to both Amazon’s automated tools and employees that could cross-use the data from Amazon Marketplace for retail decisions.
• Not to use such data for the purposes of selling branded goods as…