Amazon At Risk Of Major Fine As EU Investigates Alleged Preference For In-House Products Under Digital Markets Act: Report

The EU is reportedly set to investigate Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) in 2025 for favoring its in-house branded products.

What Happened: The EU is preparing a case against Amazon under its Digital Markets Act or DMA, reported Reuters, citing people with direct knowledge of the matter.

The probe will focus on whether Amazon’s marketplace gives an unfair advantage to its own products over those sold by third-party vendors. If Amazon is found to be in violation of the DMA, it could be hit with a fine amounting to 10% of its global annual turnover.

See Also: Amazon Remains ‘Best Idea’ In E-Commerce This Holiday Season, JPMorgan Analyst Says

The decision to launch the investigation will be made by the incoming EU antitrust chief, Teresa Ribera, in the upcoming months.

Amazon did not immediately respond to Benzinga's request for comments.

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Why It Matters: The DMA, which was implemented last year, prohibits Amazon and six other big tech firms from favoring their products and services on their platforms.

In January, Amazon’s $1.7-billion acquisition of iRobot Corporation (NASDAQ:IRBT), was abandoned due to opposition from the EU’s competition watchdog.

Earlier this week, Amazon and Elon Musk-led SpaceX's efforts to block cases brought by the National Labor Relations Board or NLRB also faced obstacles.

Amazon is contesting a case involving its first union at a warehouse in New York City.

Last month, Amazon reported a successful third quarter in 2024, with net sales of $158.9 billion, an 11% increase year-over-year, beating the Street consensus estimate of $157.2 billion.

Price Action: Amazon shares closed Thursday’s session down 2.22% at $198.38. In after-hours trading, the stock dropped further, reaching $198.08 at the time of writing, according to Benzinga Pro.

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