Home » Amazon News • UK Business News » Amazon faces a lawsuit in the UK over anti-competition

Amazon faces a lawsuit in the UK over anti-competition

By Nithya Bose in Amazon News, posted October 21, 2022

Amazon hit with a UK class action suit for anti-competitive behavior.

The lawsuit alleges the tech giant’s use of a “secretive” algorithm.

The approach was found to abuse its powerful position in the e-commerce world.

By concealing better deals on its website and mobile app, Amazon has pushed millions of customers to pay extra.

The law firm Hausfeld alleges that the move will benefit the Seattle firm's own products.

It achieves this by using a "secretive and self-favoring algorithm" in its Buy Box feature.

Last year Britain’s opt-out class action regime finally spurred after new laws allowed US-style claims under competition law.

A slew of complaints has recently been filed, including one against Meta for alleged exploitation of personal data and overpricing on Alphabet's Google Play Store.

A court must still officially notify the lawsuit as a class action.

Hausfeld said the claim would be launched against Amazon at the Competition Appeal Tribunal by October 31.

Damages might be worth up to £900 million ($1 billion) based on economists' estimations of probable losses.

A consumer rights consultant, Julie Hunter will represent the tens of millions of people who might be named in the litigation.

Opt-out class action lawsuits indicate that a person affected does not have to be involved in the case to be included or get a portion of any final reward.

Amazon has been subjected to a broader antitrust investigation as a result of its Buy Box.

The CMA is presently looking into the company's alleged anticompetitive behavior in relation to its Buy Box.

Need Career Advice? Get employment skills advice at all levels of your career

Currently, the European Commission is working to resolve a complaint involving a suspected bias from the same feature.

Lesley Hannah, a lawyer at Hausfeld, said: “Amazon takes advantage of consumers’ well known tendency to focus on prominently placed and eye-catching displays, such as the Buy Box.

“Amazon should not be allowed to take advantage of its customers in this anticompetitive way.”

Source: Bloomberg

Follow us on YouTube, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.