EU Investigates Amazon Over Alleged Restrictions on Sellers' Cross-Platform Pricing
nashnova research
The EU is conducting a preliminary review of whether Amazon uses "price parity" clauses to stop third-party sellers from offering lower prices elsewhere — a potential violation of the Digital Markets Act and the first time DMA enforcement has targeted Amazon's pricing practices.
What exactly is Amazon accused of?
The core allegation: Amazon imposes "price parity" clauses that bar third-party sellers from listing products at lower prices on rival platforms or their own websites.
In plain terms = if you sell something for €100 on Amazon, you cannot sell it for €90 on your own site — or Amazon penalises you.
The European Commission has sent questionnaires to third-party sellers; the review is still at an early stage.
How are sellers actually affected?
Jack Nekhala, inventor of the Bed Scrunchie, is one seller surveyed. He says that if his company offers a lower price on its own site, Amazon may suppress the product's visibility on its platform.
This means → Amazon does not outright ban a price cut. Instead it uses algorithmic ranking to make the product "disappear" from search results.
Nekhala argues this lets Amazon "influence pricing across the entire internet."
Does the Digital Markets Act cover this?
The DMA — the EU's 2023 law regulating large "gatekeeper" platforms — explicitly bans gatekeepers from using market power to restrict sellers' cross-platform pricing freedom.
Since taking effect, the DMA has already imposed multimillion-euro fines on Apple, Meta, and Alphabet.
This means → the EU has both the legal tool and enforcement precedent in hand. If Amazon is found in breach, a penalty is not a distant prospect.
What happens next?
The Commission says it maintains "regular dialogue" with Amazon and its business customers to monitor DMA compliance.
Amazon stated it is "committed to complying with the DMA and always actively cooperating with the Commission's ongoing oversight."
If regulators find evidence of a potential violation, the preliminary review could escalate into a full investigation. Previous DMA enforcement against other tech giants has already drawn criticism from the White House and added friction to EU-US trade relations. This reflects that the probe's trajectory matters beyond Amazon itself — it feeds directly into the transatlantic tech-regulation standoff.
市场有风险，内容仅供研究参考，不构成投资建议。