Communications of the ACM
Amazon Fined $1.3 Billion in Italian Antitrust Case
Amazon said it would appeal the fine.
Credit: Mauro Ujetto/Zuma Press
Italy's antitrust regulator fined Amazon.com Inc. $1.3 billion, saying it harmed competitors by favoring third-party sellers that use the company's logistics services, a decision that reflects increased scrutiny of tech giants by antitrust regulators globally.
The regulator said Thursday that Amazon favored sellers in Italy that paid it to use its warehouse and delivery services, including by making them more likely to appear as the default option, or "Buy Box," when consumers click to buy a product.
The fine of 1.13 billion euros is part of a wave of antitrust enforcement in Europe and elsewhere against Amazon and other big tech companies for allegedly abusing their dominance to squash smaller competitors.
Companies including Apple Inc., Alphabet Inc.'s Google, and Meta Platforms Inc.'s Facebook have in the past two years faced formal investigations, charges or fines in a variety of cases filed by the European Union and countries including the U.S., the U.K., France and Germany. The companies have denied wrongdoing.
From The Wall Street Journal
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