The European Commission announced on Wednesday the opening of a "thorough investigation" of the US online retail giant Amazon, suspected of violating European competition rules by using data from independent retailers selling on its site.
Margrethe Vestager against Donald Trump
"I decided to take a very close look at Amazon's business practices and its dual role as a marketplace and retailer, to see if the company is complying with the European Union's competition rules," he said. European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager in a statement.
The Danish, whose services have already investigated Apple, Facebook, Google and Amazon already in the past, is in the line of fire of US President Donald Trump, who accuses him of hating the United States, to have repeatedly imposed fines on US companies. "We will cooperate fully with the Commission," responded Amazon.
A preliminary inquiry started several months ago
Amazon sells products directly on its website, but also provides independent sellers with a marketplace called "Marketplace", on which they can sell to consumers. "By providing a marketplace for independent sellers, Amazon continuously collects information on the activities carried out on its platform," explains the Commission.
The opening of this "thorough investigation" follows a preliminary investigation that began several months ago, which revealed that the US giant was using "competitively sensitive information" about "sellers, their products and their transactions ".