BRUSSELS
The European Commission has opened a formal antitrust investigation into Amazon Inc.’s e-book business, signaling another blow to the U.S. online retailer, which is also being investigated over its low-tax payments in Luxembourg.
The 28-nation bloc's executive body said on Thursday it would particularly look into certain clauses included in Amazon's contracts with publishers, who are required to inform Amazon about more favorable terms offered to its competitors.
The European Commission is concerned such clauses could prevent other e-book distributors from competing with Amazon by developing new and innovative products and services.
"It is my duty to make sure that Amazon's arrangements with publishers are not harmful to consumers, by preventing other e-book distributors from innovating and competing effectively with Amazon," EU Commissioner in charge of competition policy, Margrethe Vestager, said on Thursday.
"Our investigation will show if such concerns are justified," Vestager added.
The move comes more than a month after the European Union accused Google Inc. of favoring its own shopping services and also launched a probe into the company’s conduct in relation to its Android mobile operating system.
