Italian antitrust watchdog fines Amazon €1.13bn for abuse of market dominance

Online retail giant Amazon has been fined €1.13bn by Italian antitrust regulators for abusing its market dominance.

According to the Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato, Amazon has harmed competition in the e-commerce logistics service.

"Amazon holds a dominant position in the Italian market for intermediation services on marketplaces, which Amazon leveraged to favour the adoption of its own logistics service — Fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) — by sellers active on Amazon.it to the detriment of the logistics services offered by competing operators, as well as to strengthen its own dominant position," the AGCM said on Thursday.

The watchdog stated it would also impose corrective measures that will be subject to review by a monitoring trustee.

Amazon said it "strongly disagrees" with the fine and that it intends to lodge an appeal.

"We constantly invest to support the growth of the 18,000 Italian SMBs that sell on Amazon, and we provide multiple tools to our sellers, including those who manage shipments themselves," said Amazon.

As of 1105 GMT, Amazon shares were down 0.15% in pre-market trading at $3,518.00 each.