Amazon hit with EU antitrust accusations over third-party retail sales

Amazon has been accused of violating antitrust laws in Europe, with the European Commission alleging that Amazon takes advantage of confidential third-party business data to further its own competing retail business.

Announced on Tuesday, the European Commission has informed Amazon of its "preliminary view" that it had breached EU antitrust rules covering online retail. The Commission believes that Apple is abusing its position as a retail platform to monitor sales data generated by independent sellers that use its website, which it then employs to improve its own rival product offerings.The Commission is also starting a second formal antitrust investigation, looking into the "possible preferential treatment" of Apple's own products and for items from marketplace sellers that employ Amazon's logistics and delivery services.

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