Three decades ago, Amazon set out to be Earth’s most customer-centric company, where people can discover and purchase the widest possible selection of safe and authentic goods. As part of that mission, we obsess over earning and maintaining trust by ensuring that we provide a trustworthy shopping experience. We believe that customer trust is difficult to earn and easy to lose, so we invest heavily in people and technology to prevent listings and content that are illegal or violate our terms and conditions from entering our store. We have maintained this approach for many years, long before the DSA came into effect. In 2023 alone, we invested more than $1.2 billion and employed more than 15,000 people globally to protect customers, brands, selling partners, and our store from counterfeit, fraud, and other forms of abuse.
With regards to the 2024 independent audit of our EU store, carried out in compliance with the DSA, we are pleased to see that for the vast majority of the DSA requirements, Amazon’s robust mechanisms met the high standard of the audit. While we are proud of the work we have done over many years of sustained effort, we continue to invest in improving our shopping and seller experience, and have considered the audit’s recommendations in depth, evaluated how to address each one, and implemented measures in response (outlined in the Audit Implementation Report). We are reassured that none of the audit’s findings impact our customers’ ability to shop safely in our store, or affect the selling experience.
Some of the audit findings revealed differences in the interpretation of the legal requirements between our auditors and Amazon. As some commentators have noted, the current audit framework relies heavily on auditors’ subjective interpretations, which could lead to inconsistency among auditing firms and guidance. We believe that further clarity and more standardised criteria in the audit process would enhance both its effectiveness and consistency, better serving the DSA’s objectives.
We are fully committed to continued constructive engagement with the European Commission, and to further collaborate with industry and consumer groups. Our aim is to not only raise the bar in keeping our store safe for customers, selling partners, brands, and advertisers, but also in improving protections for European citizens. We will continue to report and post updates on our ongoing efforts, including those areas required for reporting by the DSA.
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