Amazon.com Inc is facing a lawsuit in Britain for damages of up to 900 million pounds ($1 billion) over allegations the online marketplace abused its dominant position by favoring its own products, lawyers said.
Consumer rights advocate Julie Hunter plans to bring action on behalf of British consumers who have made purchases on Amazon since October 2016, lawyers representing her said.
The proposed case would be the latest action against a tech giant to be filed at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT), Reuters news report said.
Law firm Hausfeld, which represents Julie Hunter, said on Thursday that Amazon breached competition law by using a secretive and self-favouring algorithm to promote its own products through the Buy Box feature on its e-commerce website.
Julie Hunter said in a statement: “Far from being a recommendation based on price or quality, the Buy Box favors products sold by Amazon itself, or by retailers who pay Amazon for handling their logistics. Other sellers, however good their offers might be, are effectively shut out.”
