Amazon has ordered remedial action. The company fundamentally disagrees with the office’s decision and appeals against it, Reuters reported.
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According to the Italian authority, Amazon has combined the use of its logistics network with access to priority programs, such as Amazon Prime, which guarantee greater visibility of goods on the platform and access to more creditworthy clients.
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Vendors who want to join these programs must sign an agreement in which they undertake to use the services of Amazon’s logistics branch.
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According to the office, the American company damaged some retailers, logistics service providers and other electronic marketplaces, because it indirectly increased the costs for companies to use them.
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“The Office considers these illegal business activities to be very serious and, given their duration, the extent of the impact and the size of the group, has decided to impose the said fine of over one billion euros,” the antitrust authority said.
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Amazon has also ordered corrective action, such as access to premium programs and resellers who do not use Amazon’s logistics.
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This is one of the biggest fines Amazon has received from antitrust authorities.
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At the end of November, the Italian antitrust authority imposed a fine of 200 million euros (about five billion CZK) on Amazon and Apple for restricting access of some Apple resellers to the Amazon platform. Both companies announced that they would appeal against the fine.
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Amazon is also facing antitrust proceedings from the European Union.
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