Germany’s competition authority has barred Amazon from influencing third-party seller prices on its German marketplace and ordered the company to repay about €59 million, citing an abuse of market power with implications for how digital platforms govern sellers.

According to the Bundeskartellamt, the decision prohibits Amazon.com Inc and Amazon EU S.à r.l. from using price caps or similar mechanisms to control what independent sellers charge on amazon.de, except in narrowly defined cases such as excessive pricing. The authority said this marked the first use of its disgorgement powers since reforms to German competition law in 2023, with the €59 million representing an initial estimate while the conduct remains ongoing.

Andreas Mundt, president of the Bundeskartellamt, said the company’s dual role as marketplace operator and retailer created particular risks. “Amazon directly competes with the other marketplace sellers on its platform,” Mundt said, adding that influencing competitors’ pricing was permissible only in “very exceptional circumstances”. He warned that interference could leave sellers unable to cover costs and force them off the platform.

The authority said Amazon accounts for around 60 per cent of online retail sales in Germany, with roughly 60 per cent of goods sold on amazon.de supplied by third-party sellers rather than Amazon’s own retail arm. Those sellers set their own prices and bear commercial risk, but the regulator found that Amazon’s systems effectively constrained that freedom.

Reuters reported that the case focused on algorithmic price control tools that assessed whether offers were too expensive compared with other channels. When triggered, those tools could remove products entirely or reduce their visibility by excluding them from the prominent Buy Box, a change that the watchdog said could lead to sharp drops in sales.

The Bundeskartellamt criticised the lack of transparency around those mechanisms, saying sellers could not tell how price caps were set or predict when their offers might be downgraded. It concluded that the conduct breached both German competition law, including special rules for large digital firms, and EU law under Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union.

Amazon said it would appeal. Rocco Bräuniger, country manager for Amazon.de, said the company would challenge what he called an “unprecedented regulatory decision”, warning that forcing Amazon to promote higher prices would harm customers and sellers. He said the ruling conflicted with EU competition principles and risked fragmenting the single market.

The regulator said Amazon has one month to appeal to Germany’s Federal Court of Justice, and noted that it coordinated aspects of the case with the European Commission and the Bundesnetzagentur, reflecting closer scrutiny of platform practices across Europe.

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