Now the EU is Investigating Amazon Too
- Paul Thurrott
- Sep 19, 2018
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28
Following in the rich traditions of Microsoft, Intel, Apple, and Google, Amazon has finally found itself the subject of an EU antitrust investigation.
I’ve not found any mention of this on the European Commission website yet, but Bloomberg is reporting that the EC has launched a preliminary investigation of how Amazon gathers information on sales made by competitors on Amazon Marketplace and whether that gives it an unfair advantage when it sells to customers directly.
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“The question here is about the data” that Amazon collects from smaller merchants on its site, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said during a press conference today in Brussels. “Do you then also use this data to do your own calculations, as to what is the new big thing, what is it that people want, what kind of offers do they like to receive, what makes them buy things? That has made us start a preliminary [investigation].”
In an interesting coincidence, I just talked about how Amazon’s ability to monitor customer shopping searches on its website gives it an unfair advantage on yesterday’s First Ring Daily. This capability matches Google’s ability to do so with its web search engine, and the result has been illegal behavior: Google artificially promotes its own services over those that would normally figure more prominently in the search results.
It’s not clear yet whether the EU probe will result in charges: Ms. Vestager says that the Commission is now questioning Amazon and its partners and competitors. And Amazon, of course, has been a frequent target of U.S. president He Who Shall Not Be Named, who has eloquently referred to a “very antitrust situation” regarding Amazon.
So we’ll see what happens. But Amazon, like the U.S. tech giants that had previously fallen under the cold eye of the EU, certainly needs some oversight. If only to ensure that it doesn’t abuse its market power and harm consumers and competitors alike.
Conversation 28 comments
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provision l-3
<blockquote><em><a href="#325517">In reply to aionon:</a></em></blockquote><p><br></p><p>Reasonable people can debate if President Trump's polices are effective or not and reasonable people can debate what his accomplishments are and what he should be credited for. What is beyond reasoned debate is his personal behavior. His supporters clearly approve of his lack of civility but there is no reasonable debate that he is a behavior is civil. </p><p><br></p><p>You like and support someone that habitually lobs personal insults at people he disagrees with and said this:</p><p>"<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">And when you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything"…"Grab ’em by the pussy. You can do anything."</span></p><p><br></p><p>But you are bothered by Paul's bad Harry Potter joke because he is being snide about people? </p><p><br></p><p>Sorry, but you can't be taken seriously with your complaint. By your own admission you are okay and approve of people that make snide comments about others and worse. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
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pargon
Premium Member<blockquote><em><a href="#325602">In reply to provision l-3:</a></em></blockquote><p>Bill Clinton is a rapist and somewhere near 50+ people connected to him have mysterious deaths….but Trump throws insults, he's a horrible person!!! The snowflake comment should be below your post not Aionon's. The level of attacks on Trump is orders of magnitude higher than any other president; according to you he's not allowed to fight back. No one hated Donald Trump or said he was racist or sexist or any of that until he ran for president as a republican….which is odd, because if he was those things don't you think someone would sue him for some of those $Billions?? Yup, it's fake news.</p>
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provision l-3
<blockquote><em><a href="#325603">In reply to Pargon:</a></em></blockquote><p>This illustrates my point about about there being no reasoned debate about President Trump's personal behavior. You can't defend his actions on their own merit and instead have to change the subject to another person that wasn't even the subject of conversation, call me names and then depend a straw man fallacy. Former President Clinton is also a terrible person. Sadly there is room in the world for more than one terrible person. </p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p><p><br></p>
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PeterC
<blockquote><em><a href="#325662">In reply to wright_is:</a></em></blockquote><p>Exactly. Well put.</p>
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justincrawford
<p>Translation: The EU needs more money. Solution: Find next big company they can fine billions to pay for their incompetence. </p><p><br></p>