Laws and regulations

Amazon has created a new page on its European marketplaces, offering customers direct access to recalls and product safety alerts. It aims to help customers shop with confidence.

Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE) calls on politicians to be stricter towards cheap marketplaces from China, including Temu. The interest group advocates for strengthening customs and suggests a digital platform where every shipment must be registered.

The British government has issued an urgent plea to Amazon to unfreeze seller funds. Kevin Hollinrake, the enterprise minister, expressed deep concern after a flood of complaints. “I would urge you to look into this issue further as a matter of urgency", he wrote to Amazon.

Many British Amazon merchants are at a loss after the platform froze payments, leading to numerous questions and complaints from traders. Some of them claim to be in financial straits due to the situation.

As of next spring, German individuals who engage in significant trading on platforms may face scrutiny from tax authorities. This is a result of the new European Platform Tax Transparency Act.

For the allocation of the Buy Box, Amazon in the United Kingdom promises not to differentiate between online sellers who use or do not use Prime-related fulfillment services. “Eligibility for Prime and the Prime badge will not be a criterion when determining the Featured Offer.”

For online sellers, it is more important that existing rules are enforced than the introduction of new rules. This is stated by Ecommerce Europe in a manifesto prepared in the lead-up to the elections for a new European Parliament.

Amazon has recently frozen funds of legitimate sales partners. The company has now acknowledged that mistakes were made. The blockade is being lifted, but sellers continue to face problems.

The European Commission has asked the Alibaba subsidiary, AliExpress, for a clarification. Brussels wants to know what the platform is doing to combat the trade in illegal products, including counterfeit medicines. AliExpress has been given three weeks to provide an explanation.

The European Parliament has approved a right of withdrawal for financial services contracts concluded online. A “completely irrelevant provision” has crept in regarding all distance selling contracts.

Belgian partner sellers on Dutch platform Bol.com have complained about coercive contracts and the abuse of power by the platform. The platform is said to ask for information about suppliers and a large revenue share. A member of the federal parliament has called for a hearing.

The European Commission has launched the co-creation process for the transition of the retail ecosystem. It represents the first step towards accelerating the green and digital transformation of the retail and wholesale sector, according to EuroCommerce.

Following Zalando, Amazon has also lodged a legal objection against its classification as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) in Europe. “Amazon does not fit this description under the DSA”, the company states.

Member states of the European Union collected 20 billion euros in VAT revenue last year through new ecommerce VAT portals. According to the European Commission, this demonstrates the success of the new filing options.

Ecommerce giant Amazon is imperceptibly tracking visitors' online behavior after they leave the marketplace. Even when they did not give permission for cookies to be placed. The Dutch Foundation for Data Protection (SDBN) is starting a mass claim, as at least five million Dutch customers have been duped.