The request comes under the new Digital Services Act (DSA) that requires large technology companies to comply with requirements that aim to protect consumers. The European Commission has requested more information from Amazon on how the online retailer protects consumers from illegal products. The e-commerce giant must respond to the request by 6 December.
The information could lead to the opening of a formal investigation into Amazon over the risk assessments and mitigation measures it uses to protect consumers and their rights online. The request was made under the Digital Services Act which entered into force for technology giants in August of this year.
Amazon is designated under the act as a "very large online platform," meaning it must comply with new rules (such as more transparency, data sharing and risk management obligations) or risk heavy fines of up to six per cent of the company's global turnover. EU Digital Services Act: 5 things that will change when you sign into your social media accounts.
These very large platforms have at least 45 million monthly active users, which is equal to around 10 per cent of the EU population.
The European Commission sent a request for information to Chinese e-commerce website AliExpress last week over the measures it takes to protect consumers from illegal products such as the sale of fake medicines. It previously sent formal requests to TikTok, Meta and X (formerly Twitter) over the spread of disinformation and illegal or violent content.
The European Commission can impose fines for incorrect or misleading information and can request the information by decision (indicating or imposing a penalty) if Amazon fails to respond. The Commission added that "failure to reply by the deadline could lead to the imposition of periodic penalty payments".