Amazon Faces Antitrust Charges From European Regulators

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Amazon’s logo appears on a warehouse in France, on May 19.

Eric Piermont/AFP/Getty Images

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In recent years, as Amazon’s power has grown, it has attracted a lot of scrutiny. It is a $1.5 trillion company that employs over a million workers. The company’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, is the world’s wealthiest person. Amazon operates the largest cloud-computing business, has one of the fastest-growing delivery networks in the U.S. and the most prominent online shopping platform.

A growing chorus of critics and concerned politicians and regulators are scrutinizing the work conditions at Amazon’s warehouses, its impact on the climate, the use of its facial-recognition technology and doorbell cameras by law enforcement — and the dynamics of its powerful digital marketplace.

Last month, Amazon and other tech giants were called «gatekeepers of commerce and communications by a sweeping 449-page report by Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee’s antitrust panel. The report made a detailed case for stripping Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google of the power than has made each of them dominant in their fields.

EU regulators had launched their investigation in July 2019, and zoomed in on Amazon’s unique dual role as both the rule-setting owner of its marketplace and a retailer who competes against other sellers on this platform.

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Since 2015, third-party sellers have accounted for more than half Amazon’s global sales, Bezos told shareholders last year. The company often touts this as a success story for many small- and medium-sized businesses.

In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission and U.S. state attorneys general are also investigating Amazon’s retail marketplace, warehouse conditions and other parts of its business.

Amazon often points out «intense competition in every segment of its operations — and that shopping on Amazon still represents a small fraction of overall retail sales, the overwhelming majority of which continue to happen in physical stores.

«We are very fortunate to have … become a significant and an important company. And with that, of course, it’s completely normal we be scrutinized, Bezos told shareholders in May. «We welcome the scrutiny. It’s good for us.

Editor’s note: Amazon is among NPR’s financial supporters.