from the we-were-totally-going-to-do-that-anyway dept.
Ecommerce group commits to increasing visibility of rivals' products:
Amazon has reached a final deal with EU antitrust regulators over concerns its use of data undermined rivals, in a move that will close two of the most high-profile probes in Brussels.
The US ecommerce group has committed to increasing the visibility of rival products by giving them equal treatment on Amazon's "buy box," which generates the majority of purchases on the site. It will also create an alternative featured offer for those buyers where speed of delivery is less important.
The European Commission plans to announce the deal on December 20, according to four people with direct knowledge of the timing. However, they warned the date could still change at the last minute.
[...] The move represents a win for the EU, as it will serve as a blueprint for the tech group's compliance with the new Digital Markets Act, a piece of legislation aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech.
It also means Amazon will avoid formal charges of breaking EU law and a large fine of up to 10 percent of global revenues.
The DMA is the first big overhaul of the rules governing technology groups in more than two decades. It sets out new obligations on large online platforms to give equal treatment to data, banning so-called self-preferencing whereby a company ranks its products ahead of rivals on its own marketplace.
[...] Chris Meyers, Amazon's associate general counsel, told a conference on Monday that the commitments were in line with how the group planned to comply with Brussels' new rules.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 12, @01:35PM (1 child)
Nice that corporations can break laws, then weasel their way out of the consequences
unlike normal folk.
(Score: 2) by janrinok on Tuesday December 13, @08:13AM
The EU has always tried to educate businesses regarding new laws rather than simply fine them for non-compliance from day one. The GDPR was treated in exactly the same way. Lots of people outside the EU said that the law was toothless because all that appeared to happen was the issuing of warnings. Companies were going through the EU's education phase as they had said they would do when the law was introduced. Then around 2020, the fines started being issued. Now companies are taking notice and considering the implications of doing business in Europe where European law has primacy - not US law.
The DMA is relatively new. The EU are following the same path but are prepared to impose fines or other restrictions much sooner than was seen with the introduction of the GDPR. Amazon has read the writing on the wall. It was a wise decision on their part rather than risk a fine of 10% of their global revenue.
I know some people, 'normal folk', who have been to court for some infraction and have left with nothing more than a verbal warning because it was a first offence. It depends upon the offence itself and the intent of the transgressor. Justice has to be seen to be done - but it doesn't need to throw the full weight of the law regarding potential punishments at everyone when it simply isn't justified.