The European Union's General Court has dismissed a request by Amazon to scrap its designation as a platform subject to stricter requirements under EU online content rules.
Amazon had contested the lawfulness of the provision in the EU's Digital Services Act that specifies which online platforms are labelled as "very large". Those companies are required to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content on their platforms.
The US online retail giant had argued in court that marketplaces like the Amazon Store do not pose systemic risks.
But the EU's second-highest court said the EU was not wrong in considering that very large online platforms, including marketplaces exceeding the threshold of 45 million users, were a risk to society.
The risks were posed by "disseminating illegal content or infringing fundamental rights, including consumer protection", the court said.
"The obligations imposed on those platforms .. are intended to prevent those risks, even if they entail significant financial burdens for those platforms."
The court also dismissed all other arguments by Amazon.
In a statement, Amazon said it was disappointed with the ruling and intends to appeal.
"We agree with the European Commission's objective to keep customers safe online and have been committed to protecting them from illegal products and content well before the Digital Services Act (DSA).
"The Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) status of the DSA was designed to address systemic risks posed by very large companies with advertising as their primary revenue and that distribute speech and information.
"The Amazon Store, as an online marketplace, does not pose any such systemic risks; it only sells goods, and it doesn’t disseminate or amplify information, views or opinions."
