Amazon is fined 90,000 euros per day for failing to comply with an injunction from the repression of Fraud concerning the presence of "
unbalanced
" clauses in its contracts with merchants selling through it, announced the DGCCRF in a press release.
“
We will comply with the decision of the DGCCRF but we absolutely do not understand it and we are challenging it in court
,” reacted the e-commerce giant in a press release.
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The repression of fraud had ordered Amazon Services Europe to comply with the presence of “
unbalanced and non-compliant clauses in contracts with third-party sellers of the Amazon.fr platform
”.
The platform was also ordered to comply with the European regulation "
promoting fairness and transparency for companies using online intermediation services
".
A conviction by the Paris Commercial Court in 2019
"
As Amazon Services Europe has not fully complied with the injunction notified to it, it is now subject to a penalty payment of 90,000 euros per day of delay
", specifies the press release issued on Wednesday.
“
The changes imposed by the DGCCRF will prevent us from ensuring effective consumer protection and will allow malicious actors to set excessive prices or spam our customers with commercial offers,
” the group further deplores.
"
The terms and conditions applicable to our marketplace, in particular, are designed to prevent abuse, including price gouging (…) and other inappropriate behavior.
These rules have made it possible, for example, to avoid the appearance of exorbitant prices for masks or hydroalcoholic gel during the pandemic
”, specifies Amazon, which recalls the existence of “
many measures
” to effectively protect its customers.
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In 2019, the Paris Commercial Court, seized by the repression of Fraud (DGCCRF), sentenced Amazon to a fine of 4 million euros for “ manifestly unbalanced
” contractual clauses
towards companies using its platform.
The DGCCRF then noted an asymmetry in the balance of power between the American giant and companies wishing to sell through it.