MILAN, Dec 9 — Italy’s antitrust watchdog said today it had fined Amazon €1.13 billion for alleged abuse of market dominance, in one of the biggest penalties imposed on a US tech giant in Europe.Global regulatory scrutiny of tech giants has been increasing after a string of scandals over privacy and misinformation, as well as complaints from some businesses that they abuse their market power.
The authority said Amazon tied to the use of FBA access to a set of exclusive benefits, including the Prime label, that help increase visibility and boost sales on Amazon.it. The antitrust authority also said it would impose corrective steps that will be subject to review by a monitoring trustee.