The European Commission and Amazon have reportedly reached a deal that will allow the retail giant not to pay a fine for allegedly misusing sellers' data.
Three years after the agency's officials in Brussels started a probe into whether Amazon uses sellers' data to engage in anti-competitive practices, the company finally reached a final deal with the EU antitrust regulators, according to CNBC.
Amazon's Move is in Compliance With the New Digital Markets Act
As per Engadget, the retail company has agreed to give rival products equal treatment in the Buy Box sections, which generates the majority of the website's purchases. This would give the rival products more visibility.
In addition, Amazon will create an additional featured offer for customers who are less concerned about getting their purchases immediately.
Likewise, the retail company is also giving sellers free rein to choose the company they want to deliver their products to.
According to Financial Times, the EU plans to make the announcement regarding the deal on December 20. However, the said date is still bound to shift at the last minute, according to four people with direct knowledge of the issue.
Sources said that the commitments have been "market tested" with rivals. Likewise, EU officials agreed with it. The said commitments are set to remain enforced for five years.
As the EU aims to curb the power of Big Techs, the move represents a win for the commission. It serves as the US retail giant's compliance with the new Digital Markets Act (DMA) that was adopted in September.
The move means that Amazon will be able to avoid formal charges of breaking EU law. The retail giant will also avoid paying a large fine of up to 10 percent of global revenues.
In more than two decades, the DMA is the first rule that targets technology groups. The act sets out new obligations on large online platforms in order to give equal treatment to data.
One of the aims of DMA is to prevent Big Techs from abusing their market position. Likewise, it aims to prevent harming smaller rivals.
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Amazon Still Has to Deal With US Lawmakers, Regulators
Back in July, the retail company promised to take the necessary steps to make its seller program fairer.
Amazon claimed legislation like the DMA is "unfairly" targeting the retail company. Similarly, the retailer said that to address concerns about its business, it was "engaged constructively" with regulators.
The agreement with the EU would finally allow Amazon to put to rest at least one aspect of a long saga. In 2019, the European Commission started probing the retail company's use of sellers' data.
This comes a year before The Wall Street Journal published a report. According to it, Amazon used sellers' data to design competing products.
However, despite having reached an agreement with the EU, Amazon still has to appease US lawmakers and regulators.
It was reported that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating the company's use of third-party data in April.
According to Engadget, Amazon did not immediately issue a statement when requested for comment.
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