Amazon reached a deal with the antitrust authority of Germany to overhaul its terms of service for third-party dealers who complained of biased treatment when selling through the most significant online retailer of the world.
On Wednesday, the Federal Cartel Office said that it was dropping the investigation of seven months after the United States e-commerce Amazon agreed to modify its Business Services Agreement that applies to dealers using its platform.
Office added, the changes will take effect in thirty days, and it will not only apply to Germany Amazon number two market after the US but also its country sites in Spain, France, Britain, and Italy along with Asia and America.
Andreas Mundt, cartel office chief stated that they achieved extensive improvements for retailers on marketplaces of Amazon. He added that they are dropping their investigation.
In the response, Amazon said that the modifications in its Business Solutions Agreement would illuminate the responsibilities and rights of selling partners that account for 58% of physical goods sales on its platform.
Amazon said that they would continue working hard, inventing new tools & services, and investing heavily to help their selling partners everywhere in the world reach new customers and develop their business.
Regulators vs. Platform
Tech giants of Silicon Valley have come in the gradually intense scrutiny in Europe with Alphabet’s Google strike with billions of euros in the term of fines for breaches in the competition rules of European Union.
Anti-trust regulator of Germany is also active and giving orders to Facebook to change how it tackles user data after knowing that the social media giant abused its dominance. In contrast to Amazon, Face challenged that decision that came to a comparatively rapid understanding with the regulator of Germany. In the case of Amazon, no fines had foreseen.
The main problem is the so-called platform firms that provide a place for others, such to sell first-hand or second-hand books. In an inherent fight of interest, that business also has long term a mainstay of Amazon that established in the garage of Jeff Bezos in 1994. Later it went on to overtake a market valuation of about $1 trillion. On the other side, third-party sellers criticized that terms of service of Amazon loaded against them.
Latest Terms of Service
Amazon will observe European rules among the modifications in its new terms of service to govern liability towards its partners of business on its platform of Europe. However, in the past, it faced no such responsibility.
Now, Amazon will give thirty days’ notice as well as the reason for eradicating a merchant from its platform. In the past, it used the authority to remove or block a seller without explanation or warning.
Read Also: Amazon to Pay Employees $10,000 along with Three Salaries to Quit
At present, the merchants will able to request Amazon decisions about who should bear the costs refunds and returns. The cartel office stated that other changes consist of ease of understanding terms of service of Amazon, product descriptions, and impartial presentation reviews of customers. The German site of Amazon said that 300,000 merchants working on Amazon.de would receive the effect of change among that 60-65 % are German.
