Germany’s Federal Cartel Office (Bundeskartellamt) has prohibited Amazon from using so-called price control mechanisms on its German marketplace and ordered the disgorgement of approximately €59 million in economic advantage gained through the practice. The decision, published on 5 February 2026, targets Amazon.com Inc. and Amazon EU S.à r.l. and marks the authority’s first use of newly reformed powers to confiscate unlawful gains.
Amazon operates a broad e-commerce ecosystem in Germany, with amazon.de accounting for around 60 percent of online sales nationwide. The platform combines Amazon’s own retail business with a marketplace used by independent third-party sellers, which account for roughly 60 percent of all sales on the site. These sellers set their own prices and bear the financial risks of their operations.
According to the Cartel Office, Amazon used various mechanisms to monitor and influence sellers’ prices. When prices were deemed too high, offers were either removed from the marketplace or excluded from the prominent “Buy Box,” significantly reducing visibility and sales. The authority found that these interventions unduly restricted sellers’ pricing freedom and could force them off the platform.
Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office, stressed that because Amazon competes directly with marketplace sellers, any influence over competitors’ pricing is permissible only in exceptional circumstances, such as cases of price gouging. The authority rejected Amazon’s argument that such controls are necessary to ensure low consumer prices, noting that alternative, less restrictive measures—such as reducing fees or commissions—are available.
The Cartel Office also criticised the lack of transparency surrounding the price controls, finding that sellers were unable to predict how price thresholds were set or when their offers might be restricted.
The conduct was classified as an abuse under Germany’s special rules for large digital companies (§19a GWB), the general abuse provisions of §19 GWB, and Article 102 TFEU. Amazon may now use price controls only in exceptional cases and in line with strict parameters and notification requirements set by the authority.
In parallel, the Cartel Office coordinated closely with the European Commission on Digital Markets Act enforcement and with the Federal Network Agency on platform transparency. The decision is not yet final, and Amazon may appeal to the Federal Court of Justice within one month.