Amazon is facing fresh scrutiny in Europe over concerns that third-party sellers could be disadvantaged if they offer products more cheaply through competing marketplaces or their own websites.

The European Commission has been questioning businesses that sell through Amazon about potential price-parity practices. The concern is whether Amazon’s systems could reduce the visibility of products when sellers offer a lower price elsewhere.

The enquiries are at an early stage and have not yet developed into a formal investigation or finding of wrongdoing. They are being conducted under the European Union’s Digital Markets Act, which imposes competition requirements on large technology platforms.

Amazon’s Marketplace is already one of the company’s services designated as a gatekeeper under the DMA.

The DMA prohibits gatekeepers from using parity requirements that prevent businesses from offering better commercial terms through alternative platforms or their own direct sales channels. The European Commission has previously said the restriction can also capture measures that have an equivalent effect, including potentially de-listing offers.

One seller questioned as part of the latest scrutiny was Jack Nekhala, inventor of the Bed Scrunchie, which is designed to keep sheets secured to mattresses.

Nekhala told Bloomberg that selling the product for less through his company’s own website could result in it being suppressed on Amazon’s marketplace. He argued this gives Amazon the ability to influence pricing beyond its own platform.

The European Commission has already acknowledged broader concerns about the issue. In its 2026 review of the DMA, it said some respondents had raised questions about whether commercial practices and algorithmic penalties could produce effects similar to traditional parity clauses. Booksellers had also raised concerns about a lack of transparency around Amazon’s terms and algorithms and whether these could restrict their ability to offer better prices elsewhere.

Amazon maintains that it complies with the rules. The company has told regulators that it does not employ parity clauses that are incompatible with the DMA, while the Commission has said it will continue assessing whether gatekeepers are using alternative practices that could produce similar effects.

Amazon said it was committed to complying with the DMA and would continue to engage with the Commission’s regulatory oversight.

The latest scrutiny adds to the EU’s broader enforcement of the DMA against some of the world’s largest technology companies. Amazon was among the first six companies designated as gatekeepers when the legislation’s initial designations were announced in September 2023.

The Commission has since pursued cases involving other major technology companies. In July 2026, Google was fined €890 million, approximately A$1.6 billion, for two DMA breaches involving self-preferencing in Google Search and restrictions on directing Google Play users towards alternative purchasing channels.

For Amazon, the immediate issue is whether the Commission finds enough evidence from sellers to escalate its enquiries into a formal investigation.