Amazon's policies prevent the company from using vendor data to hurt both its sales and the products it sells on the platform, but the practice may have strayed from what it defines as a rule. According to reports by the Wall Street Journal, which cites unidentified sources, Amazon employees have been using data from sellers to guide product development, as well as to define their price, in order to gain an advantage in a competitive scenario. The American newspaper gives as an example a luggage organizer, which was allegedly created after the company studied the sales and expenses that another brand had with a similar product on the ecommerce platform.
The news indicates that the practice also involves some of Amazon's executives, who have requested reports on some particular sellers.
In a statement, Amazon reiterates that it "strictly tests" this type of behavior. In response to the accusations, an internal investigation was initiated to ascertain whether, in fact, any of these rules were violated.
As a consequence, the company may face heavy legal repercussions. In July 2019, Amazon spoke before the US Congress, where it stated not to engage in practices of this kind to gain an unfair competitive advantage before retailers who sell articles on their platforms. If these accusations prove to be true, Amazon's testimony will be considered false, which may aggravate your situation.
More importantly, it should be stressed that the technology may face even greater scrutiny by regulatory authorities, both in the USA and in Europe, if Amazon fails to prove that the case is false or was limited to a small group of employees, without any authorization from the companies. heads.
It is recalled that, in 2019, the company was also accused of altering the search algorithm of its platform to favor the sale of its products.
