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The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said on Wednesday that it has opened an investigation into alleged anti-competitive practices by Amazon.com Inc.

The CMA said the investigation "will look at whether Amazon has a dominant position in the UK and whether it is abusing that position and distorting competition by giving an unfair advantage to its own retail business or to sellers using its services compared to other third party sellers on the Amazon UK Marketplace platform".

The announcement follows news earlier today that Amazon is reaching an agreement on a similar investigation within the European Union.

Earlier today, the Financial Times reported that Amazon will share more data with rivals and offer shoppers a greater choice of products as part of a deal with EU antitrust regulators, with the deal closing two of its most high-profile antitrust investigations. in Brussels.

Details of the deal have been shared with Amazon's rivals to ensure competition concerns are allayed before the European Commission can announce a formal deal has been reached.

EU regulators are set to announce a so-called "market test" next week before the deal is formally agreed after the summer.

Three financial publication sources familiar with the matter indicated there could be minor changes, but nothing that would derail the deal itself.

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As part of the deal, Amazon will allow third-party sellers on its marketplace to access more information that can help them sell more products online.

The deal comes three years after European antitrust officials launched an investigation into Amazon's alleged anti-competitive practices over how it handles competitors' data.

Investigators suspected that Amazon, with its dual role as both an online marketplace and a retailer on its own platform, was breaking EU law by using sensitive market information to artificially favor its own retail business at the expense of competitors .

The timing and details of the agreement can still change, the Financial Times points out, adding that at this stage Amazon and the European Commission have declined to comment on the news of the agreement.

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