According to a ruling by the Court of the European Union, Amazon, as a “very large online platform”, must comply with stricter rules in the EU. The court in Luxembourg dismissed a lawsuit by the world’s largest online retailer against the corresponding classification by the EU Commission under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The judgment can still be appealed to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The judges see the requirements as interfering with entrepreneurial freedom, among other things, as they cause considerable costs. However, the court said the intervention was justified by the EU’s goal of preventing systemic risks.
Amazon was disappointed by the verdict and announced that it would appeal. The company emphasized that it shared the Commission’s goal of protecting customers online.
The US group had argued that it was not the type of online platform for which the DSA rules were created. The law targets services that disseminate information and opinions and are financed through advertising – not retailers of consumer goods such as Amazon.
Amazon felt treated unequally
In addition, the stricter supervision puts Amazon at a disadvantage compared to local retail competitors who do not fall under the DSA, the company argued. “We are not the largest retailer in any of the EU countries in which we operate,” Amazon said. The classification also forces the company to fulfill burdensome administrative obligations that are of no benefit to consumers in the EU.
One of the obligations that Amazon particularly resisted was a restriction on recommendations for users on its site. According to the DSA, very large online platforms would have to offer at least one option that is not based on personalized data. In addition, the platform does not want to maintain a public directory for advertisements, as required by DSA rules.
With the DSA, the EU wants to protect people from illegal content on online platforms. For services with an average of 45 million active users per month, stricter requirements apply, such as an annual risk assessment for harmful content.
The German fashion retailer Zalando also failed in a lawsuit against the classification before the EU court in September. The group announced that it would have the decision reviewed by the ECJ.