Amazon commits to e-book competition rules in EU settlement

Ecommerce giant Amazon has agreed to commitments with the European Commission relating to how it releases e-books.

The EU's antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager agreed to drop an investigation into the Seattle-based company after receiving assurances from the firm that it would drop certain clauses in its contracts for electronic publications.

Clauses associated with Amazon's e-book business models, contracts, commissions and promotions will be removed from deals with publishers, ensuring an even playing field, according to Vestager.

"Today's decision will open the way for publishers and competitors to develop innovative services for e-books, increasing choice and competition to the benefit of European consumers," Vestager said.

The EU's antitrust commissioner Margrethe Vestager agreed to drop an investigation into the Seattle-based company

"Amazon used certain clauses in its agreements with publishers, which may have made it more difficult for other e-book platforms to innovate and compete effectively with Amazon. We want to ensure fair competition in Europe's e-books market worth more than 1 billion euros."

An investigation was opened into Amazon’s e-book practices in 2015 after the Commission expressed concern about possible breaches of competition rules.

The commitments from Amazon will be valid for a period of five years, and the company said it was pleased to have reached an agreement with the Commission.