The German antitrust agency is launching an investigation into Amazon

Germany’s antitrust agency said it had launched an investigation into online retailer Amazon amid complaints that it was abusing its position to the detriment of sellers using its “marketplace” platform.

The Federal Antitrust Office, or Bundeskartellamt, said that “Amazon’s dual role as the largest retailer and largest marketplace has the potential to hinder the activities of other sellers on its platform.”

“Due to the many complaints we have received, we will check whether Amazon is not abusing its market position to the detriment of sellers operating on its market,” said the head of the agency, Andreas Mundt.

“We will review the trading conditions and practices applied to sellers.”

The German investigation will “complement” the European Commission’s ongoing investigation into Amazon’s use of data to the possible detriment of sellers on the marketplace by focusing exclusively on business conditions and practices applied to sellers on Amazon’s German marketplace, the authority said.

Amazon said it could not comment on ongoing proceedings.

“However, we will fully cooperate with the Bundeskartellamt and continue to work hard to support small and medium-sized enterprises and help them grow,” the company said.