In a parallel but separate case, Germany’s
competition regulator said Wednesday that
Amazon was changing some of its business
conditions for traders on its online marketplace
worldwide after the regulator raised concerns
about some terms. The case is not like the
EU’s probe about data on traders, but about
contractual terms such as a one-sided
exemption from liability to Amazon’s benefit as
well as the place of jurisdiction for disputes.
Othe r EU countries like Austria, Luxembourg
and Italy are also independently investigating
Amazon but EU spokeswoman Lucia Caudet
said the national probes did not overlap with
the EU investigation.
The EU’s investigations into major companies
like Amazon have led the way in a global push
to more tightly regulate tech giants, as many
governments wonder if they are becoming too
big for the good of the wider economy.
Among the key questions are not only whether
the tech giants abuse their market dominance
to choke off competition, potentially stifling
choice for consumers and innovation, but also
whether they are adequately protecting users’
data and paying their fair share of taxes in
countries where they operate.
U.S. authorities have started to follow Europe’s
lead in taking a closer look at the big tech
companies, particularly after the scandal in
which Facebook was found to have allowed
data on millions of people to be used by other
companies, including to try to influence the
2016 election that made Donald Trump the
new U.S. president. According to published
reports, U.S. regulators are poised to fine