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Amazon bows to EU's demands on e-books

BRUSSELS, Belgium - The EU said on Thursday that Amazon had bowed to its demands and agreed to drop clauses requiring e-book publishers to disclose information about their deals with the US retail giant's rivals.

5 May 2017

©laurentiu iordache via 123RF

In order to avoid potentially huge fines, Amazon "will no longer enforce or introduce these clauses in agreements with publishers," the EU Commission said in a statement.

"The clauses may have led to less choice, less innovation and higher prices for consumers due to less overall competition" in the EU, it added.

In a battle dating back to 2015, the EU argued that Amazon's contracts with e-book publishers violated the bloc's anti-trust laws because publishers were required to reveal their other deals with rivals. They were also compelled to give Amazon equal or better terms than they offered to rivals.

But Amazon has now agreed to amend those clauses, Brussels said. Amazon said in a statement it was "pleased" to have reached an agreement with the commission.

"We will continue working to help authors and publishers reach more readers, improve the digital reading experience, and bring our customers the best possible prices and selection," it added.

The case ends as Amazon is fighting a far bigger anti-trust case with the European Commission over its tax affairs in Luxembourg.

Source: AFP

Source: I-Net Bridge

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