MILAN : Italy’s anti-trust authority on Thursday fined Amazon 1.13 billion euros ($1.3 billion), accusing the company of exploiting its dominant position against independent sellers on its website in violation of European Union competition rules.
The fine is one of the largest leveraged in Europe against the online retail giant, which expanded in particular in Italy during a coronavirus lockdown that prevented residents from going to stores to buy items considered nonessential.
Europe has pioneered efforts to rein in big tech companies, most famously by slapping Google with multibillion-dollar fines in three antitrust cases. The push is gaining steam worldwide as regulators and lawmakers take on digital giants over accusations of everything from stifling competition to failing to prevent harmful content from appearing on their platforms.
Amazon said it “strongly disagreed” with Italian regulator’s decision and would appeal, calling the fines and proposed remedies “unjustified and disproportionate.” It noted that more than half of annual sales in Italy are from small and medium businesses that have access to other channels to sell their goods.
