Amazon Gets 3 Weeks to Show Compliance With Digital Services Act

The European Commission wants Amazon to prove it’s complying with the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The watchdog group has given the tech giant until July 26 to turn over information on the measures it has taken to follow the law, Reuters reported Friday (July 5).

“In particular, Amazon is asked to provide detailed information on its compliance with the provisions concerning transparency of the recommender systems,” the commission said.

Adopted last year, the Digital Services Act (DSA) requires “large online platforms” like Amazon to do more to address illegal or harmful content. (Amazon had sued to prevent being designated such a platform.)

“We are reviewing this request and working closely with the European Commission. Amazon shares the goal of the European Commission to create a safe, predictable and trusted shopping environment,” an Amazon spokesperson told Reuters.

“We think this is important for all participants in the retail industry, and we invest significantly in protecting our store from bad actors, illegal content, and in creating a trustworthy shopping experience. We have built on this strong foundation for DSA compliance,” the spokesperson added.

A number of Big Tech companies have been making changes this year to remain in compliance with the DSA.

For example, the Microsoft-owned LinkedIn last month said it was phasing out a controversial tool that allowed for the use of sensitive personal data for targeted advertising. The networking platform was announced after receiving pressure from civil society organizations as well as scrutiny from regulators.

Those groups had complained to the European Commission that the tool might allow advertisers to target LinkedIn users based on sensitive personal data such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions and other personal details via their membership in LinkedIn groups.

And TikTok in April suspended a rewards program on TikTok Lite following a dispute with regulators in Europe, who argued the program could be addictive for children and threatened it with a temporary ban.

“Our children are not guinea pigs for social media,” EU Internal Markets Commissioner Thierry Breton had said before TikTok came to its decision.

“TikTok always seeks to engage constructively with the EU Commission and other regulators,” the TikTok Policy Europe account said on X. “We are therefore voluntarily suspending the rewards functions in TikTok Lite while we address the concerns that they have raised.”