Suspicion of Inducing Purchase of Own Products
"Deception Violates Consumer Choice Rights"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The world's largest e-commerce company, Amazon, is facing a class-action lawsuit worth $1 trillion (approximately 1.4 trillion KRW) in the UK for allegedly violating antitrust laws.
According to economic media CNBC on the 20th (local time), Julie Hunter, a UK consumer rights activist, plans to file a $1 trillion lawsuit against Amazon at the London Competition Tribunal by the end of this month, together with the law firm Hausfeld.
They claim that Amazon infringes on consumers' right to freely choose products by using its own algorithm called the 'Buy Box' to lead consumers to purchase specific products. The Buy Box is a system that, based on an algorithm, exposes customers only to products with better ratings and lower prices among identical items when consumers make a purchase.
Hunter argued that the Buy Box algorithm tends to expose more of Amazon's own products or those of retailers who have paid Amazon, rather than fairly selecting products based on price and quality. Other sellers are excluded from consumers' choices no matter how good their offers are.
Hunter criticized, "Consumers trust Amazon and believe that purchasing through the Buy Box is the most reasonable deal. However, Amazon manipulates consumer choices and creates tricks through design to induce the selection of specific products."
The law firm Hausfeld set the claimed damages at $1 trillion, considering that about 80-90% of Amazon's product sales are made through the Buy Box system.
In response, Amazon issued a statement saying, "These claims are completely unfounded, and the facts will be clearly revealed through legal procedures," and "We always support the 85,000 businesses selling products in the UK," directly refuting the allegations.
Some experts express skepticism about whether Hunter's side will win the lawsuit. David Green of the London Solicitors Litigation Association told the BBC, "Amazon is a large corporation with sufficient resources to fight the lawsuit and will respond comprehensively," but added, "Recently, courts have ordered companies to stop using personal data in marketing processes in similar cases."
Earlier, in April, Amazon was also embroiled in allegations in Australia that it prioritized its own products in recommendations. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission demanded an explanation from Amazon regarding its own sales system, claiming the platform was structured to favor its own products. However, Amazon reportedly refused to respond.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
