In November 2020, the European Commission (EC) found that the Seattle-based e-commerce giant was “systematically relying on non-public business data” about sales, shipping and performance from third-party sellers to benefit its own retail business. This month, Amazon offered to commit not to do so, and to make changes to its Prime service. (The Logic)

Talking point: The firm’s promises would only cover its operations in the EU for five years following a settlement. The bloc’s Digital Markets Act, adopted last week, is already set to ban “gatekeeper” tech firms from favouring their own products over those of third-party businesses using their platforms, and force the larger companies to share more data with them. The EC hasn’t yet put out its list of firms that will be subject to the new rules, but experts expect Amazon to be among them, alongside Alphabet, Apple, Meta and Microsoft. Canada’s Competition Bureau launched an investigation into Amazon’s treatment of third-party sellers in August 2020, but has yet to report any findings. In Europe, the EC is set to complete its consultation process on Amazon’s settlement offer in September.