Amazon Germany fined $70 million for 'influencing' third-party Marketplace pricing

San Francisco, CA, USA – May 24, 2025: An Amazon delivery worker places Amazon Prime packages on the doorstep of a residence in San Francisco during a routine delivery. (Charles-McClintock Wilson via Getty Images)

The Bundeskartellamt, or the Federal Cartel Office of Germany, has prohibited Amazon from continuing its practice of using mechanisms to control the prices charged by sellers on its platform in the country. Germany’s competition regulator explained that the company uses “various price control mechanisms” to review prices set by third-party Markerplace sellers. If the website deems a specific listing’s pricing as too high, it allegedly removes the listing altogether or prevents it from being prominently displayed in the Buy Box section that ...