The fast penetration of the Internet and digitalization has led to the emergence of tech giants, such as Google and Amazon, that have increasingly more control over digital markets. For this reason, digital markets are becoming more and more under the scrutiny of competition authorities, which aim to ensure the protection of consumers’ interests and fair competition. On July 17, 2019, the European Commission opened an antitrust case against Amazon. The case concerns Amazon's use of commercially sensitive information obtained in its marketplace operations. It refers to information collected by third-party sellers, products registered by third-party sellers, or transactions with sellers on Amazon’s marketplace, for retail activities and in the selection of the Buy Box’s product. The European Commission is investigating whether Amazon systematically relies on non-public data from independent sellers who sell through its platform for the benefit of its retail business, which competes directly with these third-party sellers. This dissertation studies Amazon’s case, aiming to understand to what extent the opening of this process by the European Commission makes sense and to think about the possible course of action that the European Commission may take in this process. We conclude that the European Commission should rethink its approach to the digital economy to provide an adequate framework to safeguard open and fair digital markets.
Date of Award | 15 Jul 2022 |
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Original language | Portuguese |
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Awarding Institution | - Universidade Católica Portuguesa
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Supervisor | Joana Pinho (Supervisor) |
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- Amazon
- Multi-sided platforms
- Competition policy
- Abuse of dominant position
Amazon vs Comissão Europeia: uso abusivo de dados?
Pimenta, M. J. G. (Student). 15 Jul 2022
Student thesis: Master's Thesis