Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to change the way it deals with rivals’ sales data and to treat all sellers equally on its UK platform after an investigation by the country’s antitrust agency.
(Bloomberg) — Amazon.com Inc. has agreed to change the way it deals with rivals’ sales data and to treat all sellers equally on its UK platform after an investigation by the country’s antitrust agency.
The Competition and Markets Authority said Wednesday that Amazon offered a number of promises to change the way it treats third-party sellers on its UK marketplace. The move comes after the technology company offered a similar truce to European regulators in December.
The watchdog opened the probe last year after it raised a number of concerns including how it used user data to give the platform an unfair advantage and the way its Buy Box for showcasing specific offers unduly favored its own retail business.
Read More: Amazon Seals EU Antitrust Truce to Dodge Fines, Boost Rivals
“Amazon’s commitments to the CMA will help ensure that third-party sellers on Amazon Marketplace can compete on a level-playing field against Amazon’s own retail business and, ultimately, mean that customers in the UK get a better deal,” Ann Pope, a senior director for enforcement at the CMA, said.
The CMA said its preliminary view is that the offers address the competition concerns and it will now consult before deciding whether to accept them.
“While we disagree with the CMA’s preliminary concerns, we have engaged constructively with them to address the matters they have raised,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement.
(Updates with an Amazon spokesperson’s comment in the final paragraph)
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