Court order requires Amazon to publicly disclose advertising data under DSA

Last year under the Digital Services Act (DSA), the European Commission declared Amazon Store a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP), mandating it to provide public access to detailed online advertising data.

Amazon sought to annul this decision in the European Union’s General Court and requested interim measures. Consequently, the Court’s President ordered a temporary suspension of this requirement. This led the Commission to appeal to Europe’s highest court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Now, the Court of Justice has suspended the previous order of the General Court. Thus, the company will now be required to disclose information regarding its platform’s advertisements in a publicly accessible archive.

In the order, the Vice-President of the Court of Justice acknowledged Amazon’s claims that the EU law, demanding public access to their ad repository, potentially violates their privacy rights and business freedom, highlighting that these concerns are not irrelevant.

Nevertheless, the judge summarized that delaying DSA’s objectives due to Amazon’s appeal could adversely impact achieving the goals of regulations of a ‘Digital Single Market’. This could potentially lead to an online ecosystem that infringes on fundamental rights. Thus, the judge concluded that the EU’s legislative interests surpass Amazon’s concerns, thereby favoring the denial of the suspension request.