The European Union's General Court on Wednesday (19/11) dismissed Amazon's challenge to the European Commission's decision to designate Amazon Store as a "very large online platform," affirming that the US e-commerce giant must comply with EU digital regulations.
Under the EU's Digital Services Act, technology platforms with more than 45 million EU users must meet certain obligations, including addressing illegal and harmful content, when designated as "very large online platforms" or "very large online search engines."
In 2023, Amazon appealed to the court to overturn the designation, arguing that the obligations imposed violated rights protected by the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, including freedom to conduct business, property rights, and freedom of expression.
However, the court dismissed the challenge, arguing that EU lawmakers considered very large online platforms to pose a potential systemic risk to society.
The obligations imposed on these platforms, for example, require recommendation systems that do not rely on user profiling and provide researchers with access to certain data, aiming to prevent such risks.
Amazon has about two months to appeal the ruling, the court said.
