Amazon has been fined $1.2bn in Italy after the country’s antitrust regulator alleged the company was abusing its market dominance through the promotion of its own logistics operation, Fulfilment by Amazon. The penalty was imposed as the regulator claims Amazon’s unfair promotion has damaged other competition in the ecommerce logistics market.
The regulator stated that sellers on the platform are forced to use Fulfilment by Amazon if they want to gain certain benefits, such as the ability to provide free Prime delivery, priority in search results, and the ability to participate in Black Friday sales.
The regulator has said that sellers should receive equal treatment, whether they use Amazon’s or other competitor’s logistics services.
The regulator has also stated that it will also impose corrective measures which will be subject to review by a monitoring trustee.
Amazon has responded by stating that the fine was “unjustified and disproportionate”, and that the company plans to appeal the decision.
The company also stated that third-party sellers have the option to use its Seller Fulfilled Prime service, which grants access to similar Prime benefits without having to use Fulfilment by Amazon.
Source: BBC
