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ABREU ADVOGADOS ON THE AGENDA: THE AMAZON “CASE” ON THE AGENDA: THE AMAZON “CASE” In the last few days we have witnessed a series of statements, both from the Commissioner Margrethe Vestager and from the responsible of the Commission’s competition unit for e-commerce, on how Amazon uses merchant’s data. Around a week ago, at the EC press conference on Luxembourg McDonald’s State Aid Case, the Commissioner, when asked about the antitrust concerns that Amazon raised in both EU and US, said that the EC started a preliminary investigation into its commercial practices. It has been noted several times that a formal investigation process has not yet been opened but we know that Amazon, after Google, is another tech giant that worries the EC. Stacy Mitchell, co-author of the report Amazon’s Stranglehold, had told to Forbes, about a year ago, that “Amazon uses the data it gathers about customers buying from third-party sellers to undermine those sellers as competitors”. Also in 2017, the EC concluded a report on the e-commerce sector, in which it stated that “[w]ith the growth of e-commerce, certain business practices that raise competition concerns have emerged”. The EC sent questionnaires to merchants to know to what extent the way that the world’s largest online retailer collects data from small operators it hosts restricts the competition in the market, since Amazon is also competing with them. This may have implications, for example, on the prices of Amazon’s own products. Fines applicable to EU competition law infringements can go up to 10% of the overall annual turnover of the undertakings. According to The New York Times, Vestager’s rulings against the US giants “have positioned the European Union, rather than Washington, as the world’s de facto Big Tech regulator” (such as, the 4.3 billion-euro record fine applied to Google this year, for using Android to consolidate its search engine dominance position). Regarding the access to data, Germany and France published a joint report in 2016 and, in the same year, the German Competition Authority has initiated a proceeding against Facebook, regarding its contract terms for using consumer data. There is certainly a new competitive environment and new anticompetitive risks associated to the access of data in the tech world. This is an issue we will continue to follow. COMPETITION, REGULATORY AND EU LAW Lisbon Av. Infante D. Henrique, 26 1149-096 Lisbon (+351) 217 231 800 (+351) 217 231 899 [email protected] Porto Rua S. João de Brito, 605 E - 4° 4100-455 Porto (+351) 226 056 400 (+351) 226 001 816 [email protected] Madeira Rua Dr. Brito da Câmara, 20 9000-039 Funchal (+351) 291 209 900 (+351) 291 209 920 [email protected] www.abreuadvogados.com For more information contact [email protected] Abreu Advogados offsets its carbon footprint and is certified as e)mission neutral. www.linkedin.com/company/abreu-advogados www.twitter.com/abreuadvogados Follow us Abreu Advogados is a B Corp. B Corporations, leaders of the global movement of people using “business as a force for good”, meet the highest standards of verified overall social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability, and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems. 1 st Law fim in Portugal whose management system is certified to ISO 9001.
