The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has decided not to proceed against Amazon Seller Services over allegations that the e-commerce giant was using seller data to create knock-offs and boost its own listings in search results.
The CCI had asked Amazon Seller Services to file information with the Commission and decided not to proceed with the matter after reviewing submissions from Amazon. The CCI clarified, however, that the decision to not proceed with the case would not “come in the way, in any manner, in examining the conduct of ASSPL or any of its related entities either past, present or future,” if the firm’s submissions are found to be false or if the company’s conduct is found to violate competition law.
In response, CAIT called the CCI a “spineless toothless body”. The regulator had taken up the matter suo moto after a report claimed that ‘Amazon copied products and rigged search results to promote its own brands’.
E-retail giant Amazon has been in the cross-hairs of regulators worldwide over questions regarding the company’s handling of data related to sellers due to concerns the company has leveraged its considerable presence in online shopping to unfairly maintain said dominance.
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