Amazon violates Digital Services Act, German court rules

The Higher Regional Court (Oberlandesgericht) of Bamberg has ruled that Amazon is in violation of the Digital Services Act (DSA) regarding several interface and procedural functions on its German platform.

The court found that Amazon’s mechanism for reporting illegal offers is insufficient and misleading. The current “Report a problem with this product” link suggests a quality defect rather than an illegal listing. Furthermore, the court ruled that requiring a customer account to submit a report violates Article 16 of the DSA, which mandates that reporting mechanisms remain accessible to all individuals and entities, including those without an account.

Additionally, the court determined that Amazon’s explanation of how search results are sorted does not meet transparency requirements. The current method of providing only exemplary criteria fails to explain how different factors are weighted. The ruling also addressed the difficulty users face when attempting to disable tracking-based advertising and personalized recommendations, which are buried deep within account settings.