The EU will soon file antitrust charges against Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) over the illegal treatment of 3rd party sellers. A charge sheet draft is in circulation in the past two months. The antitrust regulator – EC (European Commission) is probing the charges against the e-commerce giant for the last two years.
Amazon to pay $28 billion
According to the EU’s leveled charges, Amazon is collecting third-party sellers’ data and competes with them by unveiling its products of similar nature. The antitrust regulator could impose a fine of $28 billion on Amazon. The company’s shares trade lower at $2,545.02 (down 0.51%) on June 12, 2020.
Amazon to amend its business practices
Executives at Amazon are under pressure to improve sales. As a result, they use data collected from third parties and chalk out a strategy to introduce products and boost sales. The antitrust regulator will instruct Amazon to alter its business tactics. Other large tech companies like Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc are also under the US’s antitrust probe.
Restricts police from using its Rekognition
Amazon restricted police from using its advanced Face Recognition Technology – Rekognition for one year. It is on the backdrop of nationwide calls for police reform in the US following George Floyd’s death. According to a blog post, the company asked governments to implement better and stronger regulations for the ethical use of Rekognition. Congress is ready to consider Amazon’s suggestions for proper use of the latest proprietary face recognition technology. The one-year moratorium imposed by Amazon helps Congress frame appropriate rules for controlled use of face recognition technology. However, it is not known what power Amazon has to restrict the use of Rekognition.
In 2016, Amazon introduced Rekognition, and the law enforcement client in Oregon began using the software in 2017. The company attracted criticism from ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) in 2018 for misidentifying 28 members in the US Congress with Rekoginition because police arrested those members by treating them as other individuals. Therefore, ACLU demanded a moratorium on the use of Amazon’s face recognition technology by police departments.
AG’s Office interviews workers of Amazon
The office of the Attorney General interviewed several workers from various Amazon facilities for alleged labor practices. It is on the backdrop of calling for implementing improved safety protections for warehouse workers.
