Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) is under investigation by Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over whether it has been damaging competition by giving its sellers an unfair advantage over third parties.
"It's right that we carefully investigate whether Amazon is using third-party data to give an unfair boost to its own retail business and whether it favours sellers who use its logistics and delivery services – both of which could weaken competition," Sarah Cardell, CMA general counsel, said.
The antitrust watchdog will look into whether this results in worse deals for UK customers on Amazon’s marketplace.
It will hone in on three main aspects including how Amazon collects and uses third-party seller data and how it sets the eligibility criteria for selling under the Prime label, Reuters confirmed.
This follows an ongoing European Commission probe, which does not cover Britain, that is looking at similar concerns.
Amazons said it will work closely with the CMA during the investigation before adding revenues from its selling partners have been growing quicker than its own retail sales.
The Seattle-based company will share more data with rivals and offer buyers a greater choice of products as part of its deal with the European Union, the Financial Times reported.