Amazon.com is taking the European Commission to the General Court of the European Union over its classification as a “very large online platform” under the EU regulation Digital Services Act (DSA). The company argues that the DSA is intended to regulate different types of business models and that Amazon does not fit the definition of a very large online platform. This comes after German online retailer Zalando filed a similar lawsuit against the platform law at the end of June. The European Commission has classified 19 internet services under the special rules of the DSA so far.
Amazon asserts that the majority of its sales come from retail and that it is not the largest retailer in any EU country. The company argues that it is unfair to regulate larger retailers differently from Amazon under the DSA. Furthermore, Amazon earned $37.7 billion from advertising in 2022, which accounted for almost 7.3% of its group sales. Despite this, Amazon insists that it invests in measures to combat illegal products, in line with legal norms of the EU and its member states.
The details of the lawsuit, which has been filed with the General Court of the European Union, are not yet known. Amazon is seeking to annul the EU Commission’s decision classifying it as a very large online platform or to be released from certain obligations under the DSA. These obligations include the right for customers to opt-out of profiling for recommendation systems and the requirement for very large online platforms to maintain an online directory of advertisements.
Amazon argues that its classification as a very large online platform is based on discriminatory criteria and violates its fundamental rights, particularly the right to equal treatment. The company also asserts that the obligations under Articles 38 and 39 of the DSA disproportionately violate its fundamental rights.
