TECHNOLOGY Bloomberg Businessweek December 7, 202022
Amazon’s European Adventure
Could Be Different From Google’s
Amazonfacedtheprospectofanescalatingcon-
flictwiththeEuropeanUnioninNovemberwhen
MargretheVestager,theEU’scompetitionchief,
laidoutevidencethatthecompanymayhave
unfairlyusedsalesdatafromsmallerretailersonits
platform.ThespecterofAmazonusingsuchdata
toidentifyemergingtrendshasbeena majorcon-
cernforregulatorsworldwide,andinterestfrom
Vestager—perhapstheworld’smostfearedanti-
trustenforcer—wasanominoussign.TheEUalso
recentlystarteda secondprobeintohowthecom-
panypicksproductsfora highlighted“buybox.”
ButwhileVestagerlaidthegroundworkfor
whatcouldbea repeatofthebruisingfighttheEU
haswagedagainstAlphabetInc.’sGoogle,result-
inginfinesofabout$9billion,shehasalsostruck
a surprisingly conciliatorynote,hintingthat
Amazon.comInc.mightnothavetoheaddown
thesametrack.
ThedifferencemaybeAmazon’swillingnessto
addressenforcers’concernsbeforethelegalpro-
cessgoestoofar.Amazonsettleda 2017EUprobe
intoe-books,saysVestager,andhasworkedwith
otherregulators,suchasGermany’sFederalCartel
Office.“Amazonhasbeenveryforthcomingtosolve
theissuesatstake”inothercases,Vestagertold
reportersonNov.10.WhileGoogledidtrytoset-
tlethreeinvestigationstheEUwagedoverthepast
decade,itsofferseithercametoolatetobetaken
seriouslyordidn’tgofarenoughtosootheangry
rivalsandtheirpoliticalsupporters.
BothAmazonandVestager’sofficedeclinedto
comment.AmazonsaidinNovemberthatit dis-
agreeswiththeantitrustcharges,andthatit sup-
portssmallbusinesseswhilefacingsignificant
competitionfromthem.
Amazonmayhavescoredsomepointswith
Vestagerbyremaining“openthroughouttomaking
changes in its business practices, rather than start-
ing out by saying its conduct is unassailable and
it has nothing to concede,” says William Kovacic,
a law professor at George Washington University
and a former Federal Trade Commission chairman.
Timing might be on Amazon’s side, saysJayModrall,a Brussels-basedlawyerforNorton
RoseFulbright,becausetheEUisconsidering
proposalsthatcouldsetclearguidelinesforhow
largetechcompaniesoperate.Thenewrules,set
tobepublishedinDecember,couldweakenthe
desiretopursueenforcementactions;theEU
hascloseda numberofantitrustprobesbasedon
pledgestochangebehaviorwithnofines,includ-
ingtwothisyear.
TheshadowofthefightwithGooglealsohangs
overanyfutureEUenforcementactionagainst
U.S.techcompanies.FortheEU,theGoogleprobe
servedasa testofstrength,showingtheregulator
couldfinalizea complexcaseunderintensepres-
sure.Vestager’spredecessor,JoaquínAlmunia,
wasforcedtopullbackonhisplannedsettlementwithGoogleafterpublishersandpoliticianssaid
it didn’tgofarenough.
Vestagerpursuedthreeseparateactionsagainst
Googleandendedupimposingrecordfineson
the company related to its advertising contracts,
shopping, and Android. Still, critics slam the EU
for taking too long and not imposing behavioral
changes on Google that would make it easier for
smaller companies to compete. EU officials say
their job was merely to stop the bad behavior—and○ There are signs that the company and the European Union are working to avoid an antitrust showdown An Amazon
sorting facility in
Schoenefeld, Germany○ Vestager