Amazon faces $1 billion lawsuit in UK for ‘favoring its own products’

Amazon faces a lawsuit in Britain for damages of up to 900 million pounds ($1 billion) over allegations that the online marketplace abused its dominant position by favoring its own products, lawyers said.

Consumer rights advocate Julie Hunter plans to bring the class action on behalf of British consumers who have made purchases on Amazon since October 2016, lawyers representing her said.

The proposed case – which Amazon said is “meritless” – would be the latest mass action against a tech giant to come before the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) in London.

The Hausfeld law firm, which represents Hunter, said Thursday that Amazon has violated competition law by using “a secret, self-serving algorithm” to promote its own products through the feature. “Buy Box” of your website.

Hunter said in a statement: “Far from being a recommendation based on price or quality, the Buy Box favors products sold by Amazon itself, or by retailers who pay Amazon to handle their logistics. Other sellers, however good as their offers are, they are excluded”.

An Amazon spokesperson said in a statement: “This claim is without merit and we trust that it will be cleared through the legal process.”

The suit is expected to be filed with the CAT later this month and will need to be certified by the court before it can proceed.

It is being filed on an “opt-out” basis, which means that any potential plaintiff will be included in the lawsuit unless they opt out.

The case comes after the British antitrust watchdog announced in July that it is investigating Amazon for alleged competition law breaches, including the way it selects products that are placed in the “Buy Box” feature.