Laws and regulations

German antitrust watchdog, the Federal Cartel Office (FCO), has announced that it is widening its investigation into Amazon’s activities in Germany. The renewed investigation will take into account a reformed German competition law, targeting digital giants. The investigation looks into pricing and instruments applied by Amazon to control marketplace sellers.

The European Commission is working on new laws to reduce packaging waste. The plans include cutting down on empty space in ecommerce parcels as well as an increase in reusable packaging.  A draft of the rules, which was supposed to come out at the end of the month, was leaked early.

The French competition authority has ordered a fine for Essilor International, which produces lenses for glasses. The company banned selling its lenses on online platforms in the past. According to the watchdog, this has unfairly hindered ecommerce businesses.

Amazon has filed lawsuits in Italy and Spain in order to stop fake reviews on its platform. It marks the first criminal complaint of the ecommerce giant in Europe. Amazon also sent warnings to five websites in Germany concerning the issue.

The Dutch National Hotline for Internet Scams is warning consumers about new fake online stores, claiming to sell firewood and wood burning stoves. With energy prices rising all across Europe, the department expects more of these online shopping scams.

In a court case, Dutch marketplace Bol.com was told that its order button does not meet European standards. The marketplace needs to make it clear that customers are entering an obligation of payment. This could have consequences for other online stores.

Fashion platforms Asos and Boohoo are being investigated by the British Competition and Markets authority regarding greenwashing. Their claims about sustainability may be misleading the public. The CMA says it ‘won’t hesitate to take legal action’.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK is investigating Amazon on its dominant position in the UK. Amazon could be distorting competition. “Any loss of competition is a loss to consumers”, says Sarah Cardell, general counsel at CMA.

Working between 20:00 and midnight will no longer be prohibited in Belgium. After months of negotiating about night work, the government has reached an agreement. It seems that Belgian ecommerce can finally start catching up.

Dutch lingerie retailer Hunkemöller has been sued by a German consumer advocate. The lawsuit is due to misleading marketing in its online shop about sustainability. Dutch retailer Peek&Cloppenburg and German fashion group Popken Fashion GmbH have also been warned.

British online shoppers face more identity checks from now on. By subjecting consumers to a two-factor authentications the government wants to reduce fraud. More card payments will probably be declined. It is the biggest change to card payments in 16 years.

The Catalonian Ministry of Labor is considering to approve a new law that will regulate and limit the delivery times of home deliveries. By limiting the delivery times of couriers, the ministry wants to minimize competition between physical and online retail.

The Belgian government is considering labor market reform measures that will give ecommerce companies opportunities to work between 20:00 and midnight. It seems that the reform will meet some discussion. Chairman of the Belgian Socialist Party Paul Magnette has said in an interview that he wants Belgium to be a country without ecommerce.

Swedish comparison shopping service PriceRunner is suing Google for promoting its own shopping comparisons in search results. The company is demanding a compensation of 2.1 billion euros. Google Shopping has already been fined for its actions in Europe in 2017.

Ecommerce businesses that ship to customers within the EU need to comply with VAT rules. These rules apply to all member states. But what happens when shipping to a state that's not a member?