The UK Competition Appeal Tribunal has authorised two lawsuits from retailers and consumers against online e-commerce giant Amazon for allegedly abusing its market dominance.
Both lawsuits allege that Amazon violated Section 18 of the UK’s Competition Act 1998 in actions before 31 December 2020, and Article 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).
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The proposed class representatives are seeking potential collective damages totalling up to £4bn ($5.4bn) for affected parties, as reported by Reuters.
The tribunal has given permission for these cases to proceed as opt-out collective actions.
Andreas Stephan, a professor of competition law, is heading one lawsuit on behalf of more than 200,000 third-party sellers. This claim seeks damages of up to £2.7bn.
Stephan’s legal team accuses Amazon of rigging its “Buy Box” feature to preferentially highlight products that use Amazon’s logistics and delivery services.
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By GlobalDataThe suit claims that the criteria used by Amazon to select which offers appear in the Buy Box are opaque and biased toward listings that employ Amazon’s fulfilment by Amazon (FBA) service over those that use fulfilment by merchant (FBM).
It also alleges discriminatory practices in how delivery promises are adjusted for FBM products.
In a separate action, consumer advocate Robert Hammond is representing millions of Amazon customers in a lawsuit seeking up to £1.3bn.
This case similarly accuses Amazon of anti-competitive behaviour.
An Amazon spokesperson was quoted by the news agency: “These claims are without merit and we’re confident that will become clear through the legal process.
“Amazon has always focused on supporting the 100,000 businesses that sell their products on our UK store, and more than half of all physical product sales on our UK store are from independent selling partners.”
The legal challenges come amidst regulatory investigations and decisions by competition authorities concerning aspects of Amazon’s operations and conduct within its national marketplaces.
In January 2025, the retailer was accused of unlawful data tracking of its consumers in the US state of California.
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sued Amazon in 2023 for using “manipulative tactics and deceptive user-interface designs” to enrol consumers in Prime subscriptions.
