EU court bid

Amazon loses EU court bid to delay digital rules on online ads

Tech giant said it is “disappointed with this decision.”

BY CLOTHILDE GOUJARD

Amazon lost a legal bid to delay obeying part of the European Union's new content moderation law.

The U.S. online marketplace had claimed that the Digital Services Act (DSA)'s requirement to make its online advertisement library publicly available would hurt its fundamental rights to privacy and the freedom to conduct a business.

Court of Justice Vice President Lars Bay Larsen rejected the company's request to suspend the DSA until its main legal challenge had been ruled on, saying this would delay the effect of the law "potentially for several years," risking efforts to make online platforms safer, according to a press release issued on Wednesday.

Amazon wants to overturn a European Commission decision that it is a very large online platform that should face extra obligations to tackle illegal content such as counterfeit and dangerous products, and harmful content. The company had also asked the court to pause two obligations on its ads library and recommendation algorithms.

Amazon spokesperson James Lewis said the company maintains that Amazon isn't a very large online platform and should not have been designated as one.

“We are disappointed with this decision," he said. “Customer safety is a top priority for us at Amazon, and we continue to work closely with the [Commission] with regard to our obligations under the DSA.”

The EU's lower court previously turned down Amazon's request for a pause on its recommendation algorithm but agreed to suspend the ads library rule. The European Commission appealed the suspension.