The European Commission has informed Amazon of its preliminary view that it has breached EU antitrust rules by distorting competition in online retail markets. The Commission takes issue with Amazon systematically relying on non-public business data of independent sellers who sell on its marketplace, to the benefit of Amazon’s own retail business, which directly competes with those third party sellers.

The Commission also opened a second formal antitrust investigation into the possible preferential treatment of Amazon’s own retail offers and those of marketplace sellers that use Amazon’s logistics and delivery services.

Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said: “We must ensure that dual role platforms with market power, such as Amazon, do not distort competition.  Data on the activity of third party sellers should not be used to the benefit of Amazon when it acts as a competitor to these sellers. The conditions of competition on the Amazon platform must also be fair.  Its rules should not artificially favour Amazon’s own retail offers or advantage the offers of retailers using Amazon’s logistics and delivery services. With e-commerce booming, and Amazon being the leading e-commerce platform, a fair and undistorted access to consumers online is important for all sellers.”

Statement of Objections on Amazon’s use of marketplace seller data

Amazon has a dual role as a platform: (i) it provides a marketplace where independent sellers can sell products directly to consumers; and (ii) it sells products as a retailer on the same marketplace, in competition with those sellers.

As a marketplace service provider, Amazon has access to non-public business data of third party sellers such as the number of ordered and shipped units of products, the sellers’ revenues on the marketplace, the number of visits to sellers’ offers, data relating to shipping, to sellers’ past performance, and other consumer claims on products, including the activated guarantees.

The Commission’s preliminary findings show that very large quantities of non-public seller data are available to employees of Amazon’s retail business and flow directly into the automated systems of that business, which aggregate these data and use them to calibrate Amazon’s retail offers and strategic business decisions to the detriment of the other marketplace sellers. For example, it allows Amazon to focus its offers in the best-selling products across product categories and to adjust its offers in view of non-public data of competing sellers.

The Commission’s preliminary view, outlined in its Statement of Objections, is that the use of non-public marketplace seller data allows Amazon to avoid the normal risks of retail competition and to leverage its dominance in the market for the provision of marketplace services in France and Germany- the biggest markets for Amazon in the EU. If confirmed, this would infringe Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) that prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position.

The sending of a Statement of Objections does not prejudge the outcome of an investigation.

Investigation into Amazon practices regarding its “Buy Box” and Prime label

In addition, the Commission opened a second antitrust investigation into Amazon’s business practices that might artificially favour its own retail offers and offers of marketplace sellers that use Amazon’s logistics and delivery services (the so-called “fulfilment by Amazon or FBA sellers”).

In particular, the Commission will investigate whether the criteria that Amazon sets to select the winner of the “Buy Box” and to enable sellers to offer products to Prime users, under Amazon’s Prime loyalty programme, lead to preferential treatment of Amazon’s retail business or of the sellers that use Amazon’s logistics and delivery services.

The “Buy Box” is displayed prominently on Amazon’s websites and allows customers to add items from a specific retailer directly into their shopping carts. Winning the “Buy Box” (i.e. being chosen as the offer that features in this box) is crucial to marketplace sellers as the Buy Box prominently shows the offer of one single seller for a chosen product on Amazon’s marketplaces, and generates the vast majority of all sales. The other aspect of the investigation focusses on the possibility for marketplace sellers to effectively reach Prime users. Reaching these consumers is important to sellers because the number of Prime users is continuously growing and because they tend to generate more sales on Amazon’s marketplaces than non-Prime users.

If proven, the practice under investigation may breach Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) that prohibits the abuse of a dominant market position.

The Commission will now carry out its in-depth investigation as a matter of priority. The opening of a formal investigation does not prejudge its outcome.

Background and procedure

Article 102 of the TFEU prohibits the abuse of a dominant position. The implementation of these provisions is defined in the Antitrust Regulation (Council Regulation No 1/2003), which can also be applied by the national competition authorities.

The Commission opened the in-depth investigation into Amazon’s use of marketplace seller data on 17 July 2019.

A Statement of Objections is a formal step in Commission investigations into suspected violations of EU antitrust rules. The Commission informs the parties concerned in writing of the objections raised against them. The addressees can examine the documents in the Commission’s investigation file, reply in writing and request an oral hearing to present their comments on the case before representatives of the Commission and national competition authorities. Sending a Statement of Objections and opening of a formal antitrust investigation does not prejudge the outcome of the investigations.

More information on the investigation is available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under case number AT.40462.

The Commission has informed Amazon and the competition authorities of the Member States that it has opened a second in-depth investigation into Amazon’s business practices.

This investigation will cover the European Economic Area, with the exception of Italy. The Italian Competition Authority started to investigate partially similar concerns last year, with a particular focus on the Italian market. The Commission will continue the close cooperation with the Italian Competition Authority throughout the investigation.

More information on the investigation will be available on the Commission’s competition website, in the public case register under case number AT.40703.

There is no legal deadlines for bringing an antitrust investigation to an end. The duration of an antitrust investigation depends on a number of factors, including the complexity of the case, the extent to which the undertakings concerned cooperate with the Commission and the exercise of the rights of defence.

By USCCB

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles
President, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

November 10, 2020

I welcome the report of the Holy See’s investigation into its knowledge and decision-making regarding Theodore McCarrick during his long career as a priest, bishop, and cardinal. We are studying these findings, and we are grateful to our Holy Father Pope Francis for his pastoral concern for the family of God in the United States and his leadership in calling the Church to greater accountability and transparency in addressing issues of abuse and the mishandling of abuse claims at every level.

This is another tragic chapter in the Church’s long struggle to confront the crimes of sexual abuse by clergy. To McCarrick’s victims and their families, and to every victim-survivor of sexual abuse by the clergy, I express my profound sorrow and deepest apologies. Please know that my brother bishops and I are committed to doing whatever is in our power to help you move forward and to ensure that no one suffers what you have been forced to suffer.

To all those who have suffered abuse by a priest, bishop, or someone in the Church, I urge you to report this abuse to law enforcement and to Church authorities. You can find detailed information on how and where to report abuse at www.usccb.org/committees/protection-children-young-people/how-report-abuse.

This report underscores the need for us to repent and grow in our commitment to serve the people of God. Let us all continue to pray and strive for the conversion of our hearts, and that we might follow Jesus Christ with integrity and humility.

By Benedetta Capelli and Gabriella Ceraso

Father Pierluigi Maccalli appeared visibly moved after Monday’s meeting with Pope Francis, who had prayed for him along with the Church.  “Thank you” were the only words that the 59-year-old missionary from the periphery managed to utter, overwhelmed by the Pope’s gesture.  

A member of the Society of African Missions, originally from the northern Italian town of Madignano, Father Maccalli relived his ordeal as he recounted it to Pope Francis, and offered it for his beloved African community in Niger where he worked.

“I was moved, I told the Pope what I went through and entrusted to his prayers especially the communities I visited and that have been without a priest or a missionary for over 2 years,” he told Vatican News.  “I asked the Pope to remember the Church of Niger in his prayers,” he said during the interview that took place soon after the papal audience. 

The Pope, he said, listened keenly.

A missionary from the periphery

Father Maccalli recalled the applause the Holy Father asked for from those in St. Peter’s Square, when he announced the good news of the missionary’s release at the end of his midday “Angelus” prayer on Mission Sunday, 18 October.

The priest thanked the Pope who replied: “We supported you but you supported the Church.” “At this,” Father Maccalli said, “I had no words: I, a little missionary, and he who said this to me … I really have no words.”

Father Maccalli described the Pope’s embrace like that of a father, whom he carries in his prayers every day.  “To find myself in front of him was truly an emotion and a feeling of great gratitude,” he told Vatican News. “I never thought that a missionary who goes to the peripheries of the world could one day find himself before the Pope himself, the leader of the universal Church.”

More than the Pope’s words, it is his gesture that the missionary said he will treasure in his heart forever.  “When we said goodbye, I shook his hand and he kissed my hands. I didn’t expect it…!” Father Maccalli said.

Prayers of tears

Thinking back to his captivity, he said, “Tears were my bread for many days and were my prayer when I didn’t know what to say.”  One day, he recalled a rabbi’s words who said that God counts the number of women’s tears.  Father Maccalli said he then prayed: “Lord, who knows whether you also count men’s tears… I offer them to you in prayer to water that arid mission land but also the arid of hearts of those who hate and cause war and violence.”

Speaking about the basic needs to survive in the desert, the Missionary of Africa said it is essential to have water to drink, to have something to eat, even if it is the same food every day, such as onions, lentils and sardines.  It is not the sought-after dishes that matter, he added: “It is the same in spiritual life.” 

“What matters is shalom [peace], forgiveness and brotherhood, and as a missionary,” Father Maccalli concluded, “I now feel an even greater urge to be a witness of peace, brotherhood and forgiveness, today and always.”