Amazon faces investigation in Canada over monopolistic actions
Canadian authorities announced Friday they had launched a study into Amazon over “potential abuse of dominance” by the e-commerce giant.
YOUR COMPETITION Bureau’s civil investigation seeks to determine whether Amazon includes a strategy “that may influence consumers to acquire products it offers on the market over those made available from competing sellers.”
The bureau said in a statement it is also probing whether Amazon is pressuring merchants from selling products at a lesser price through other channels, including by themselves websites.
“The Bureau’s investigation is ongoing and there is absolutely no conclusion of wrongdoing at the moment,” it said, contacting buyers and sellers on amazon.ca to submit relevant activities confidentially.
An Amazon spokesperson said the business was cooperating with authorities in the investigation, adding that it continues “to work hard to aid small and mid-sized businesses who sell inside our Canadian store-and help them grow.”
Like other tech giants including Google, Facebook and Apple, Amazon is the target of government investigations in places including the United States and Europe, accused of dominating the markets and blocking competition.
Testifying before US lawmakers last month, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said small organizations have lots of options for selling their goods, but that his company was “the best one.”
