An Italian regulator has fined Amazon $ 1.28 billion for abusing its control over the market

The Italian Antitrust Authority (AGCM) said Amazon price € 1.13 billion ($ 1.28 billion) as a result of “abuse of power,” a secondly the penalty he imposed on Amazon last month. Amazon is responsible for “absolute control” in the Italian retail market, “which has allowed it to promote its own function, called Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA),” the regulator wrote in a (Google translation) press.

According to AGCM, companies must use the Amazon FBA application if they want to earn profits such as Prime label, which allows them to participate in Black Friday sales and other major events. “Amazon has banned third-party retailers from merging Prime label with FBA-free advertising,” it said.

Officials say access to these services is “essential” for business success. It also noted that third-party sellers using FBA do not have the same strict requirements as non-FBA sellers. As a result, they will not be suspended from the platform if they fail to achieve certain goals. Finally, it also found that sellers using Amazon services are reluctant to submit their products on other online platforms, as they do on Amazon.

AGCM is going to offer a bigger fine because it sees Amazon’s performance as “extremely difficult” in terms of long-term and complexity. On top of that fee, it required Amazon to offer the FBA retailer offers to all third party retailers, as long as they respect certain rules and regulations. It must define and disseminate these standards within a year, and its actions will be determined by the supervisor.

Last month, Amazon and Apple were paid $ 228 million in Italy for unjustly banning the sale of Beats by banning them from selecting sellers. The EU also gave Amazon a reputation $ 888 million fine for violating the strict GDPR privacy rules of the bloc. Other technical giants are also being monitored in the EU. Obviously, the EU soon opened antitrust research in Apple’s App Store rules, especially on commissions related to in-app purchases. Engadget has reached out to Amazon to comment.