Zalando is filing a lawsuit against the European Commission.
With the lawsuit before the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ), the Berlin online fashion retailer is contesting the classification by the European Commission as a ‘very large online platform’, Zalando announced on Tuesday.
The classification, which is part of the Digital Services Act (DSA), obliges Zalando to manage systemic risks, which means that, according to the Commission, the retailer has a special responsibility for online security. In addition, Zalando is subject to stricter supervisory obligations. However, Zalando argues that the commissions ignored the retail nature of its business model. The platform does not pose a systemic risk of distributing harmful or illegal content from third parties, according to the announcement.
The online fashion retailer goes one step further and also complains about the “unequal treatment resulting from the lack of a clear and consistent methodology to assess whether a company is a ‘very large online platform'”.
As part of the Digital Services Act, the European Commission published a list at the end of April with a total of 17 ‘Very Large Online Platforms’ (or VLOPs) and two ‘Very Large Online Search Engines’ (or VLOSES).
“We support the DSA and its goals. However, the European Commission misinterpreted our user numbers and did not take into account that our business model is mainly characterized by the retail business,” says Zalando Co-CEO Robert Gentz. “The number of European visitors to our website and app who connect with our partners’ offerings is well below the Digital Services Act threshold to be considered a Very Large Online Platform.”
In addition, Zalando offers its customers a secure online environment in which customers are only published content produced or checked by Zalando. “We just don’t fit into the VLOP category defined by the DSA,” says Gentz.
Zalando is the only fashion retailer listed alongside platforms such as Alibaba AliExpress, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Wikipedia.