Under the DSA, the European Commission has opened an investigation into Amazon regarding its measures put in place to protect consumers, particularly from illegal products.
Since the implementation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) last August, things are no longer fun for the tech giants! Nineteen major digital players – also known in Brussels jargon as VLOP for very large online platforms (very large online platforms) or VLOSE for very large online search engines (very large search engines) – are in particular in the sights of the European authorities (see our article). And the least we can say is that, for several months, the demands and threats of legal proceedings have been raining down!
A few days ago, a survey on the measures implemented by Meta – the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) and Snap (Snapchat) to protect minors, and in particular their “physical and mental health”, was opened, while an identical approach targeted TikTok and YouTube. The Commission also demanded more information from Meta, TikTok and X (formerly Twitter) about the spread of violent content, hate speech and disinformation in the context of the Israel-Hamas war. Finally, at the beginning of November, it opened an investigation on AliExpress, regarding the sale of illegal products, and more particularly the sale of fake medicines (see our article). This time, it’s Amazon’s turn to attract the wrath of the institution! The European Commission announced Wednesday having opened an investigation into the measures implemented by the e-commerce giant to protect consumers, particularly against illegal products.
Amazon investigation: the fight against illegal products
The European Commission, responsible for enforcing the new text, has the power to sanction offenders. She “Requests Amazon to provide more information on the measures taken to comply with the risk assessment and mitigation obligations aimed at protecting consumers, in particular with regard to the distribution of illegal products” under the DSA, according to a press release. The questions from the European executive also relate to “the protection of fundamental rights, as well as the conformity of recommendation systems” with the new rules.
The Commission is concerned about the ability of consumers to refuse personalized product suggestions, which result from the exploitation of personal data. The DSA regulation also requires online commerce platforms to verify the identity of sellers before allowing them to operate on their site and to block repeat fraudsters. Amazon has until December 6, 2023 to provide the requested information. “Based on the evaluation of Amazon’s responses, the Commission will determine the next steps”, specifies the press release. This is the first step in a procedure which may ultimately lead to heavy financial sanctions. Indeed, as a penalty, the companies concerned can be fined up to 6% of their global turnover.
This is not the first time that Amazon has been criticized for fraudulent products on the platform. Already in 2021, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) sued the e-commerce giant to force it to accept responsibility for recalling potentially dangerous products the company sells, including Amazon Basics products. The complaint mentioned in particular “24,000 faulty carbon monoxide detectors that do not alert, many children’s sleepwear that are in violation of the flammable fabric safety standard that puts children at risk of burns, and nearly 400,000 dryers hairdressers sold without the required immersion protection devices that protect consumers from shock and electrocution”. And that’s without counting the various controversies due to children’s toys not meeting American safety standards! Hopefully things have improved since then!