European Union regulators charge Amazon with violating antitrust rules

European Union regulators have slapped Amazon with charges over alleged antitrust violations.

The European Commission on Tuesday announced it's bringing antitrust charges against Amazon, accusing the company of breaking competition laws and using nonpublic data from other sellers to its advantage, The New York Times reports.

In a statement, the European Commission said its "preliminary view" is that Amazon "has breached EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in online retail markets," explaining that regulators take "issue with Amazon systematically relying on nonpublic business data of independent sellers who sell on its marketplace, to the benefit of Amazon's own retail business, which directly competes with those third party sellers."

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It was previously reported that Amazon would soon face charges from European Union regulators, and in April, The Wall Street Journal reported the company allegedly used data from third-party sellers to launch competing products. Amazon at the time said "we strictly prohibit our employees from using nonpublic, seller-specific data to determine which private label products to launch."

Regulators are also opening a second antitrust investigation, which the European Commission said will examine potential "preferential treatment of Amazon's retail business or of the sellers that use Amazon's logistics and delivery services."

Amazon said Tuesday that it disagrees with the European Commission's assertions, adding, "no company cares more about small businesses or has done more to support them over the past two decades than Amazon." The Times notes it may "take many months, or even years, before a fine and other penalties are announced." But CNN reports the probe could potentially "expose Amazon to potential fines of up to 10 percent of its annual global sales," which "implies a maximum penalty of around $37 billion."