[JURIST] The European Commission [official website] on Wednesday opened an investigation into potential antitrust violations in the e-commerce market with the scope of the investigation including a number of the world’s largest technology and search companies. The commission seeks to identify any possible anti-competitive behavior [official press release] that is limiting trade in the 28-country EU. The commission derives its authority from Articles 101 and 102 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) [text]. Europe’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, is leading the investigation. The regulators did not name any specific companies [NYT report] as targets of the investigation, but Amazon is the largest e-commerce company in the region and the investigation will likely cover other large technology companies, such as Google and Facebook. The official inquiry into potential antitrust violations falls under the European Commission’s strategy to develop a digital single market [European Commission backgrounder] for Europe that will not limit cross-border trade. The digital single market strategy is comprised of three pillars: better online access to digital goods and services across Europe, creating an environment where digital networks and services can prosper, and maximizing the growth potential of the digital economy. The European Commission also outlined 16 initiatives [European Commission backgrounder] that the Commission intends to deliver with its digital single market strategy. The commission expects to publish a preliminary report in mid-2016 and a final report is expected in the first quarter of 2017.

The world’s largest technology companies have faced antitrust charges in the US and internationally in recent months. In April, the European Commission initiated antitrust proceedings against Google [JURIST report] accusing the company of utilizing its dominant position in the search engine market to hurt competitors. In February a judge for the Northern District of California dismissed a class action suit against Google [JURIST report] for allegedly monopolizing search engines in Android phones. In September of last year a judge for the US District Court for the Northern District of California approved a settlement between federal antitrust authorities and eBay [JURIST report] over allegations that eBay agreed to not to selectively recruit and hire employees from rival companies. In June Apple reached an out-of-court settlement [JURIST report] with the US Department of Justice regarding a class action lawsuit that accused the electronics company of illegally participating in a e-book price-fixing scheme.