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Short answer: On July 5, 2024, the European Commission sent Amazon EU S.à r.l. a formal request for information under the Digital Services Act (DSA). It asked how Amazon Store’s recommendation systems work, what non-profiled choices users receive, how Amazon’s public advertising repository is designed and maintained, and how Amazon assessed related systemic risks. Amazon had until July 26, 2024, to respond. The request was a fact-finding and compliance step—not a finding that Amazon violated EU law, a fine or a final enforcement decision.
Status checked August 18, 2026: The Commission’s public supervision record still lists the July 2024 request, but does not list a later formal DSA proceeding against Amazon over these specific recommender-system and advertising-repository issues.
What the European Commission asked Amazon
The Commission’s July 5, 2024 release identifies four areas of information:
Recommendation-system parameters and operation
Amazon was asked to explain the main parameters, input factors, features, signals and metadata used by its recommender systems, as well as their design and operation. In practical terms, these are the systems that can influence which products, listings or other material shoppers see and the order in which they see it. The request concerned information about how those systems work; it did not require Amazon to publish source code or hand over a complete commercial ranking formula.
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Options not based on user profiling
The Commission also sought details about the choices Amazon gives users who do not want recommendations based on profiling. A non-profiled option is not automatically the same as disabling every form of personalization, removing all ranking, or displaying products chronologically. The precise interface can differ by service, account, device and EU market.
Amazon Store’s public advertising repository
The request covered the design and development of Amazon Store’s Ad Library, including its deployment, testing and maintenance. That is broader than asking whether individual product pages carry a “sponsored” label. Under the DSA, a public repository is intended to let users, regulators, researchers and civil-society groups inspect advertising activity at scale.
Systemic-risk assessment documents
The Commission requested supporting material related to Amazon’s DSA systemic-risk assessment. Very large platforms must identify risks associated with their services and explain the measures they use to reduce them.
Why Amazon is covered by enhanced DSA rules
Amazon Store was designated a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) on April 25, 2023. The Commission’s current supervision page lists approximately 181.3 million average monthly active recipients for Amazon Store. The figure is the Commission’s published platform metric, not a count of unique shoppers in every country or a measure of sales.
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- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
VLOP status brings obligations beyond the DSA’s baseline rules for ordinary platforms. Relevant duties include:
- assessing and mitigating systemic risks;
- commissioning independent audits;
- explaining the main parameters of recommender systems;
- offering at least one recommendation option that is not based on profiling;
- maintaining a publicly available advertising repository; and
- providing enhanced access for eligible researchers and accepting greater Commission oversight.
The Commission summarizes these requirements on its VLOP obligations page. Its broader DSA overview explains the transparency rules for advertising and recommendations.
What “algorithm transparency” means here
The practical issue is not whether Amazon must reveal every line of code. DSA transparency is more graduated:
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- Signal categories: a platform can identify the kinds of information considered, such as activity, product relevance or other metadata.
- Relative influence: useful disclosure may require more than naming signals; outsiders may also want to know how strongly they affect results.
- User controls: shoppers need an understandable way to select recommendations that do not rely on profiling.
- Independent scrutiny: researchers and regulators need enough information to test effects, even though disclosures may not reproduce a ranking exactly.
These distinctions matter to sellers. Better disclosure could clarify whether browsing history, purchase behavior, relevance or other signals affect discoverability, but it does not promise sellers a full explanation of every ranking decision or a guaranteed route to higher placement.
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Advertising transparency has two related layers:
- User-facing transparency: identifying paid content and providing key information about why an ad may be shown.
- A public repository: a searchable record of advertising campaigns displayed on covered interfaces, intended for broader oversight.
Important practical questions include how quickly ads appear in the repository, whether the full creative and landing-page URL are available, what targeting information is shown, how long records remain searchable, whether researchers can access data programmatically, and which Amazon advertising surfaces are included. The July 2024 request did not establish that every Amazon advertising product or off-platform campaign is covered in the same way.
What this means for shoppers, sellers and advertisers
Consumers
Recommendation systems can influence which products people notice, compare and buy. A non-profiled recommendation choice gives users an alternative to personalization based on their activity or inferred interests. A public ad repository can also make commercial campaigns easier to identify and study. Those requirements do not by themselves prove that a particular recommendation or advertisement was unlawful.
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- Your favorite music and content – Play music, audiobooks, and podcasts from Amazon Music, Apple Music, Spotify and others or via Bluetooth throughout your home.
- Alexa is happy to help – Ask Alexa for weather updates and to set hands-free timers, get answers to your questions and even hear jokes. Need a few extra minutes in the morning? Just tap your Echo Dot to snooze your alarm.
- Keep your home comfortable – Control compatible smart home devices with your voice and routines triggered by built-in motion or indoor temperature sensors. Create routines to automatically turn on lights when you walk into a room, or start a fan if the inside temperature goes above your comfort zone.
- Do more with device pairing – Fill your home with music using compatible Echo devices in different rooms, or create a home theatre system with Fire TV.
- Say goodbye to drop-offs and buffering - With eero Built-in, Echo Dot doubles as a mesh wifi extender, adding up to 1,000 sq. ft. of wifi coverage to your existing eero network.
Sellers and brands
Algorithmic visibility can affect traffic and sales, while paid placements compete with organic results for attention. More meaningful disclosure could help merchants understand broad ranking inputs and allow researchers to examine competitive effects. It still would not amount to publication of Amazon’s complete merchandising or advertising recipe.
Regulators and researchers
Repositories and algorithm disclosures can support work on scams, illegal products, targeting practices and coordinated campaigns. Their usefulness depends on coverage, timeliness, searchable fields and researcher access; a formally compliant repository may still leave outsiders unable to reconstruct rankings or measure every effect.
RFI versus an infringement case
The legal sequence is important:
- Request for information (RFI): the Commission asks a platform for facts and documents.
- Possible formal proceedings: after reviewing the response, the Commission may open proceedings under Article 66 of the DSA.
- Preliminary findings: the Commission can set out a provisional view and give the company an opportunity to respond.
- Final decision: only then would an infringement be formally established and a sanction imposed.
The July 2024 release described the first step and said the Commission would assess Amazon’s reply before deciding whether to proceed. It did not announce a violation.
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The release also explains that incorrect, incomplete or misleading answers to an RFI can attract fines under Article 74(2). If a company fails to respond, the Commission can issue a formal request by decision and may impose periodic penalty payments. Separately, the DSA’s general framework allows fines of up to 6% of a company’s worldwide annual turnover for a confirmed serious breach. That percentage was not a fine imposed on Amazon in this matter and was not a penalty specifically announced in the July request.
Timeline and current public record
| Date | Event | What it shows |
|---|---|---|
| April 25, 2023 | Amazon Store designated a VLOP | Amazon became subject to enhanced DSA duties. |
| November 15, 2023 | Earlier Amazon RFI listed | Commission fact-finding had already begun. |
| January 18, 2024 | Another Amazon RFI listed | The July request was part of continuing oversight. |
| July 5, 2024 | RFI on recommendations, advertising repository and risk assessment | The Commission sought detailed compliance information. |
| July 26, 2024 | Response deadline | Amazon was expected to answer by this date. |
| August 18, 2026 | Public status checked | The Commission tracker still lists the July RFI, but no later formal proceeding on these specific issues. |
The absence of a later item on the public tracker does not prove that no confidential regulatory work occurred. It means that no subsequent formal proceeding on these particular recommender-system or advertising-repository questions is publicly identified there as of August 18, 2026. The current record is available on the Commission’s VLOP supervision page.
Why related cases matter—but do not decide Amazon’s case
The Commission has separately accepted advertising-transparency commitments or corrective measures involving other platforms, including AliExpress, TikTok and X. These cases show that ad repositories and platform transparency are active enforcement areas. They are not evidence that Amazon committed the same violations.
Bottom line
Amazon faced a serious but preliminary compliance request: explain its recommender-system parameters and profiling choices, document its public ad repository, and support its systemic-risk assessment. The public EU record reviewed through August 18, 2026, does not establish that Amazon was found in breach, fined or subjected to a later formal proceeding over those specific issues.
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