The French consumer regulator DGCCRF has won a fine of EUR 4 million against Amazon for abusive contract terms for third-party sellers on the online marketplace. Amazon must also change seven of its contract clauses to improve the sellers' rights, within six months or face further fines of EUR 10,000 per day.
France's economy minister filed the lawsuit in 2017 following an investigation by the DGCCRF that found several Amazon contract conditions created an "unbalanced" relationship to the disadvantage of sellers, in violation of France's commercial law.
Amazon has faced similar concerns in other European countries and recently agreed to change terms for third-party sellers also in Germany and Austria. The European Commission is also investigating whether Amazon is abusing its dominant position by mis-using data collected from the traders on its platform. In France, traders on the marketplace account for around 60 percent of Amazon's sales.
