Italian Antitrust Regulators Fine Amazon $1.3B for Competitive Harm

Italian antitrust regulators fined Amazon the U.S. equivalent of about $1.3 billion Thursday for harming competitors in the e-commerce logistics services market. The Italian Competition Authority said Amazon harmed competitors by forcing third-party sellers to use its logistics service. The regulator imposed behavioral remedies: “Amazon will have to grant sales benefits and visibility on Amazon.it to all third-party sellers which are able to comply with fair and non-discriminatory standards for the fulfilment of their orders.” Amazon "strongly" disagrees with the decision, and "we will appeal," a spokesperson emailed. "The proposed fine and remedies are unjustified and disproportionate." Small and medium-sized businesses have multiple channels to sell products online and offline, the company said: "We constantly invest to support the growth of the 18,000 Italian SMBs that sell on Amazon."