Amazon Being Probed by Canada Over 'Potential Abuse of Dominance'

Canada's regular is also probing whether Amazon is pressuring merchants from selling products at a lower price through other channels.

By Reuters | Updated: 17 August 2020 12:02 IST

Amazon Being Probed by Canada Over 'Potential Abuse of Dominance'

An Amazon spokesperson said the company was cooperating with authorities in the investigation

Highlights

Amazon has been probed over "potential abuse of dominance"
Canadian authorities probing whether Amazon is pressuring merchants
Amazon is the target of government investigations in global markets

Canadian authorities announced Friday they had launched an investigation into Amazon over "potential abuse of dominance" by the e-commerce giant.

The Competition Bureau's civil investigation seeks to determine whether Amazon has a strategy "that may influence consumers to purchase products it offers for sale over those offered by competing sellers."

The bureau said in a statement it is also probing whether Amazon is pressuring merchants from selling products at a lower price through other channels, including on their own websites.

Samsung Wins Patent for a Tri-Fold Smartphone With Specialised Barrier Layer for Improved Durability

"The Bureau's investigation is ongoing and there is no conclusion of wrongdoing at this time," it said, calling on buyers and sellers on amazon.ca to submit relevant experiences confidentially.

An Amazon spokesperson said the company was cooperating with authorities in the investigation, adding that it continues "to work hard to support small and medium sized businesses who sell in our Canadian store -- and help them grow."

Like other tech giants including Google, Facebook, and Apple, Amazon is the target of government investigations in places such as the United States and Europe, accused of dominating the markets and blocking competition.

Government’s Plan to Regulate Data Faces Pushback From US Tech Giants

Testifying before US lawmakers last month, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said small firms have plenty of options for selling their goods, but that his company was "the best one."

In 2020, will WhatsApp get the killer feature that every Indian is waiting for? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.