• Amazon lost its battle to suspend online advertising requirement under EU tech rules, as the top court ruled EU interests outweighed the US retailer’s material interests.
  • Amazon’s application for DSA’s online advertising disclosure requirement was dismissed by the CJEU, citing irreparable harm and irrelevant arguments about limiting fundamental rights.

On March 27 in Brussels, Amazon sided with EU regulators at Europe’s highest court, saying the EU’s interests outweighed the US online retailer’s material interests. It lost its battle to get a stay on EU tech regulations for its online advertising requirements.

Why CJEU rejected

Under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which went into effect last year, Amazon was categorized as a very large online platform subject to strict requirements to combat unlawful and harmful information on its site.

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The company then challenged the DSA’s request to disclose the repository containing details of its online adverts and asked for interim measures pending a court ruling on the case.

In September, a lower court granted its request for interim measures to suspend the controversial obligation. But the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) rejected the suspension order and dismissed Amazon’s application for interim measures.

Amazon argued that the obligation unlawfully restricts its fundamental right to respect private life and freedom to conduct business.

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The judge said that Amazon was likely to suffer serious prejudice before any judgement cancelling the Commission’s decision; the suspension could adversely affect the objectives of the Digital Services Agreement. The judge added: “A suspension would lead to a delay in the full realisation of the objectives of the Single Market Regulation for Digital Services and could therefore allow an online environment that threatens fundamental rights to continue to exist or develop.”

The attitude of Amazon

Amazon said : “We are disappointed by this decision and maintain that Amazon does not fit the DSA’s description of a ‘Very Large Online Platform’ (VLOP) and should not be designated as such.”