*

EU designation makes Amazon ( AMZN ) subject to stricter

requirements

*

Company challenging designation in court

*

Argues its "size does not multiply risk"

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, June 12 (Reuters) - Amazon ( AMZN ) asked

Europe's second-highest court on Thursday to scrap its

designation as a platform subject to stricter requirements under

landmark EU online content rules, arguing that it poses no

systematic risks to its users.

The Digital Services Act, which came into force in 2022,

requires Big Tech companies to do more to tackle illegal and

harmful content on their platforms.

The U.S. online retail giant took its grievance to the

Luxembourg-based General Court after the European Commission

classified it as a very large online platform (VLOP) under the

DSA.

A VLOP designation requires companies to do more to tackle

illegal online content, undertake risk management, conduct

external and independent auditing and share data with

authorities and researchers.

"Online marketplaces like the Amazon Store do not pose

systemic risks. Second, the VLOP rules do not and cannot

rationally assist in preventing the dissemination of illegal or

counterfeit goods," Amazon's ( AMZN ) lawyer Robert Spano told the court.

"The VLOP rules therefore make no sense when applied to

online marketplaces," he said.

Amazon ( AMZN ) said any risks are limited to individual customers,

not the totality of its users and that even if problematic

products exist, widespread exposure is minimal and already dealt

with by a number of product safety and compliance laws.

"When it comes to marketplaces like the Amazon Store, size

does not multiply risk. It is an arbitrary, disproportionate and

discriminatory metric," Spano said.

The court will rule in the coming months.

Meta Platforms ( META ), Chinese social media app TikTok and

German online retailer Zalando have also challenged

the DSA on various grounds.

The case is T-367/23 - Amazon EU v Commission.