Amazon's Lawsuit Against EU 'Very Large Platform' Regulation Dismissed

EU Court: "Justified for the Public Interest"

U.S. tech giant Amazon filed an objection against the European Union (EU) after being designated as a "very large online platform" and subjected to strict regulations, but its appeal was rejected.

On November 19 (local time), the General Court of the EU in Luxembourg dismissed Amazon's lawsuit against the European Commission regarding the EU's online regulation, the Digital Services Act (DSA), according to reports from Euronews and other foreign media outlets.

The DSA, which the European Commission has fully enforced since March last year, is a law designed to prevent the abuse of market dominance by large platform operators. This law imposes strict user protection obligations and responsibilities to prevent the spread of illegal goods and harmful online content on platform operators above a certain size.

The European Commission stipulated that "very large online platforms" with more than 45 million active monthly users in the EU are subject to stricter regulations than smaller online businesses.

Amazon argued that the DSA imposed by the European Commission infringes on several rights guaranteed by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, including freedom to conduct business, freedom of expression and information, and protection of confidential information.

The General Court, which is a lower court of the Court of Justice of the European Union, explained that Amazon challenged the legality of the DSA, which imposes specific obligations regarding transparency, cooperation, and data access. The court acknowledged that the DSA’s regulations do indeed restrict certain freedoms, including the freedom to conduct business as Amazon claimed, but ruled that these restrictions are justified by the purpose of the law.

The court stated that the obligations imposed by the EU on very large platforms are intended to prevent social risks such as the dissemination of illegal content or the neglect of consumer protection. It also pointed out that even if such obligations place significant financial pressure on very large platforms, this does not render the EU’s decision invalid.