EU asks Amazon for more information on compliance with Digital Services Act, ET BrandEquity

Amazon must provide the EU with more information on the steps the U.S. e-commerce giant has taken to comply with new digital rules, the European Commission said on Friday. The request was filed under an EU law known as the Digital Services Act (DSA), which forces platforms to do more to protect consumers and increase transparency. The commission said it wants “more information on the measures the platform has taken to comply with the DSA’s commitments related to transparency in recommendation systems.”

Recommender algorithms are used by platforms to promote more personalized content. Under the DSA, platforms must mitigate the risks that such systems pose.

The DSA also requires the world’s largest digital companies to create an ad library containing information about the ads running on their platforms.

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The commission said it wanted to learn more about the “design, development, implementation, testing, and maintenance of the Amazon Store Ad Library web interface.”

Amazon has until July 26 to comply with the request.

The latest request is a first step toward possible enforcement action, but does not in itself suggest that any law has been broken, nor is it a step toward imposing punishment.

Amazon said it was “considering” the request and was “working closely” with the commission.

“Amazon shares the European Commission’s goal of creating a safe, predictable and trustworthy shopping environment,” an Amazon spokesperson said.

“We invest significantly in protecting our store from bad actors, illegal content, and creating a trustworthy shopping experience.”