Price fixing violates fair competition rules. Germany's antitrust agency fined Amazon 70 million US dollars.

The German Federal Cartel Office has stated that it has informed Amazon that its pricing policy for retailers violates rules related to the digital economy and fair competition, and has seized 59 million euros of illegal profits from the company. The office pointed out that when Amazon determines that prices of goods are "too high," it will remove or not recommend the relevant products, whereas its guiding principle states that such mechanisms are only allowed in special circumstances such as price manipulation. Like other American tech giants, Amazon is facing increasingly strict scrutiny from global regulatory authorities, including Germany and the EU, due to its business practices and dominant position in the e-commerce sector. According to the Cartel Office, approximately 60% of online retail sales in Germany are completed through Amazon. This marks the first time that the German antitrust regulator has exercised its power to confiscate profits related to improper behavior by a tech company.