In response to the Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Commission has issued a deadline of December 6 for Amazon to provide additional information regarding measures taken to protect customers from illegal products.
The DSA, enacted in late August for 19 major online platforms, mandates stricter actions to remove illicit and harmful content, with potential fines of up to 6% of global turnover for non-compliance, according to Reuters.
In this photograph taken on November 18, 2020 in Lille, a person poses with a smartphone showing an Amazon logo, in front of a computer screen displaying the home page of Amazon France sales website.
Here's What Amazon Must Submit
The European Commission specifically asked Amazon for information on its risk assessments, steps it takes to protect consumers, and compliance with DSA obligations related to the distribution of illegal goods and the defense of basic human rights.
While the DSA establishes a comprehensive governance framework for digital services, it imposes additional transparency and accountability measures on larger platforms (VLOPs and VLOS), including reporting requirements and regulations governing algorithm usage, per TechCrunch.
Among the provisions is the requirement for VLOPs to offer users an opt-out option for profiling-based recommendations, allowing users to choose non-tracked product suggestions. The regulation also mandates platforms to disclose information to users regarding the sale of illegal goods when they become aware of such transactions.
Following the DSA disclosures, EU regulators have issued formal requests for information (RFIs) to several VLOPs, including AliExpress, Meta, Snap, TikTok, YouTube, and X. The European Commission has prioritized three key areas in its oversight of VLOPs, including responses to the Middle East crisis, child safety concerns, and addressing e-commerce risks leading up to the holiday season.
A similar investigation into the Chinese e-commerce giant AliExpress, citing concerns about the dissemination of "fake medicines," is already underway, per Channels TV. Other probes focused on combating online misinformation and illegal content have been initiated against X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, Meta, and YouTube. Platforms found to violate the DSA could face EU fines of up to 6% of their global turnover.
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Despite Amazon being categorized as a VLOP under the DSA in April, it has contested this classification, leading to an ongoing legal dispute. In September, the online retail giant secured a temporary halt on complying with a DSA mandate for VLOPs to provide a public ad archive. The court agreed to suspend this obligation until the resolution of Amazon's broader challenge to its status as a very large online platform.
The EU General Court did not allow Amazon to get out of another DSA requirement, which says that VLOPs must give users an option for recommendations that are not based on their profile. It is noteworthy that the Commission's RFI explicitly mentions Amazon's recommender systems, along with broader obligations related to safeguarding fundamental rights.
European Commission Seeks Child Rights Safety Compliance Data
TechTimes previously reported that the European Commission asked TikTok, YouTube, Meta, and Snap to submit details on their child protection procedures until November 30. Regulators will then evaluate the following actions, which can include initiating official inquiries.
"The Commission is requesting the companies to provide more information on the measures they have taken to comply with their obligations related to the protection of minors under the DSA, including the obligations related to risk assessments and mitigation measures to protect minors online, in particular with regard to the risks to mental health and physical health, and on the use of their services by minors," the Commission noted in a press release.
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