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In July, the US online retailer said it would set up a data silo to prevent its retail arm from using data from its marketplace to make competing private label products.
Amazon may have to adjust its proposals to end two investigations into its business practices, EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Friday after third-party feedback on the issue.
In July, the US online retailer said it would set up a data silo to prevent its retail arm from using data from its marketplace to make competing private label products.
It will also end preferential treatment for itself and treat sellers equally by listing their offers on its website in a “buy box” that generates the bulk of its revenue.
Vestager gave third parties until September 9 to provide feedback before deciding whether to accept the proposals.
A group of 11 NGOs and the pan-European consumer organization BEUC criticized Amazon’s offer and called on the European Commission to demand modifications.
“We are now in the process of evaluating that feedback, some of which pointed to potential improvements on several points,” Vestager told a conference in New York.
Vestager also addressed the European Commission’s investigation into Alphabet’s digital advertising business Google and said she was cooperating with her US counterpart on the matter.
“We are also in close contact with the DOJ (Department of Justice) regarding our investigation into Google’s advertising technology,” she said.
The investigation is at a preliminary stage.
Vestager, who earlier this year pushed through key EU rules to rein in Big Tech, has urged US lawmakers to pass a measure called the American Innovation and Choice Online Act, which prevents tech giants from favoring their own businesses on their websites.
“Of course, it’s up to Congress to decide, but in the absence of this kind of legislative pressure, there is a risk of regulatory fragmentation — again highlighting the increasingly important role of collaboration across our jurisdictions, such as our collaboration with the DOJ on Google,” Vestager said.
