London, October 20Amazon.com Inc is facing a lawsuit in Britain for damages of up to 900 million pounds ($1 billion) over allegations the online marketplace abused its dominant position by favouring its own products, lawyers said.
Consumer rights advocate Julie Hunter plans to bring collective action on behalf of British consumers who have made purchases on Amazon since October 2016, lawyers representing her said.
The proposed case would be the latest mass action against a tech giant to be filed at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
Law firm Hausfeld, which represents Hunter, said on Thursday that Amazon breached competition law by using “a secretive and self-favouring algorithm” to promote its own products through the “Buy Box” feature on its website.
Hunter said in a statement: “Far from being a recommendation based on price or quality, the Buy Box favours products sold by Amazon itself, or by retailers who pay Amazon for handling their logistics. Other sellers, however good their offers might be, are effectively shut out.”
An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement: “This claim is without merit and we’re confident that will become clear through the legal process.”
The lawsuit is expected to be filed at the CAT by the end of this month and will have to be certified by the tribunal before it can proceed.
It is being brought on an “opt-out” basis, meaning that any potential claimants will be included in the claim unless they choose to opt out.
Amazon has faced similar probes elsewhere, recently making an offer to the European Commission to avert possible hefty EU antitrust fines.
The platform also declined to describe its product-search system to an Australian competition regulator which has heard complaints of large marketplace platforms giving preference to in-house wares.