Amazon’s e-book distribution agreements with publishers are under scrutiny by the European Commission over allegations the e-commerce company may have engaged in anti-competitive behavior.
The European Commission said in a news release, the investigation will focus on clauses in Amazon’s agreement that require publishers to tell the organization about more favorable or comparable terms and conditions they offer competitors, or ensure that Amazon is offered terms as minimum tantamount to the competition.
The probe would focus on whether Amazon’s agreements with publishers are preventing other digital book merchants from innovating and competing effectively with Amazon, said Margrethe Vestager (The commissioner in charge of competition policy)in a statement.
“Our investigation will show if such concerns are justified,” she added.
As indicated by notices posted on European commission’s website, the probe led to the companies offering commitments in December 2012 and July 2013 to address the European Commission’s concerns.
On the contrary, Amazon, the biggest e-book distributor in Europe, denied that it engaged in anti-competitive conduct and also added its focus was putting its customers first.
