Amazon faces two lawsuits in the UK worth up to 4 billion pounds ($5.4 billion) after a London tribunal ruled the cases can move forward.
The claims accuse the company of abusing its market position to the disadvantage of both retailers and consumers.
One case, brought by competition law professor Andreas Stephan, represents more than 200,000 third-party sellers and is valued at up to 2.7 billion pounds ($3.6 billion). His legal team says Amazon manipulates its “Buy Box” feature to promote goods using its own logistics and delivery services.
The second case is led by consumer advocate Robert Hammond on behalf of millions of Amazon customers. It seeks up to 1.3 billion pounds ($1.8 billion) in damages for similar allegations of market abuse.
Amazon argued that the cases should not proceed due to flaws in the economic evidence. However, the Competition Appeal Tribunal certified both suits on an opt-out basis, meaning all affected parties are included unless they choose not to participate.
A spokesperson for Amazon said the claims lack merit and the company will defend itself through the legal process. The company said it supports the 100,000 businesses selling on its UK platform and that more than half of product sales come from independent sellers.
