Amazon probed by German antitrust body over pricing pressure on sellers

Germany’s antitrust regulator is looking into whether Amazon.com Inc. is abusing its online market dominance to exert pricing pressure on sellers, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported, citing the body’s president.

The Federal Cartel Office is “investigating whether and how Amazon influences retailers’ pricing” on its marketplace, Andreas Mundt told FAZ in an interview.

His office was reacting to complaints that the US tech giant blocked individual sellers because they allegedly charged excessive prices during the first months of the coronavirus crisis.

Mundt said the regulator is evaluating Amazon’s response to its questions. Amazon didn’t immediately reply to an email from Bloomberg seeking comment.