According to lawyers, Amazon.com Inc is facing a lawsuit in the United Kingdom for up to 900 million pounds ($1bln) in damages over allegations that the online marketplace abused its dominant position by favoring its own products.

Julie Hunter, a consumer rights advocate, intends to bring the collective action on behalf of British consumers who have made purchases on Amazon since October 2016, according to lawyers representing her.

The proposed case, which Amazon described as “without merit,” would be the latest mass action filed against a tech giant at London’s Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).

According to the law firm Hausfeld, which represents Hunter, Amazon violated competition law by using “a secretive and self-favoring algorithm” to promote its own products through the “Buy Box” feature on its website.

“Far from being a recommendation based on price or quality, the Buy Box favours products sold by Amazon itself, or by retailers who pay Amazon for handling their logistics. Other sellers, however good their offers might be, are effectively shut out,” Hunter said in a statement.

“This claim is without merit,” an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. “We’re confident that will become clear through the legal process.”

The lawsuit is expected to be filed at the CAT by the end of this month and must be certified by the tribunal before proceeding.

It is being brought on a “opt-out” basis, which means that unless potential claimants opt out, they will be included in the claim.

The case comes after Britain’s antitrust watchdog announced in July that it is investigating Amazon for possible violations of competition law, including how it chooses which products appear in the “Buy Box” feature.

Amazon has faced similar investigations elsewhere, and recently made an offer to the European Commission to avoid potentially crippling EU antitrust fines.

The platform has also refused to describe its product-search system to an Australian competition regulator, which has received complaints about large marketplace platforms favoring in-house wares.

In July, the CAT approved a 920 million-pound ($1.1 billion) damages claim against Google, and in May, it approved another case worth up to 1.7 billion pounds against Apple.

In addition, the tribunal will decide in January whether to approve a claim worth up to 2.2 billion pounds against Meta Platforms, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, for alleged anti-competitive behavior.

According to court filings, Google and Apple deny the allegations. There were no comments from Meta.

(Adapted from Reuters.com)

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