The Antitrust has imposed a fine of 10 million euros jointly and severally on two companies of the Amazon group, the Luxembourg companies Amazon Services Europe S.à rl and Amazon EU S.à rl «Thanks to the preliminary investigation, the Antitrust has ascertained that Amazon implements an unfair commercial practice consisting in the pre-selection of the periodic purchase for a wide selection of products offered on the site. In particular, on the web page where the characteristics of the selected item are described, the option « periodic purchase” rather than “single purchase”, both for products sold by Amazon and for products sold by third parties on the marketplace”. This is what the Antitrust explains in a note.
«In this way, consumers’ freedom of choice is considerably limited” as “The graphic pre-tick of the recurring purchase induces them to periodically buy a product – even without actual need – thus limiting the right to choose”. Furthermore, the Authority underlines, «the conduct implemented by the group was deemed to be in conflict with the canon of professional diligence because an operator of Amazon’s importance would be required to build the online interfaces relating to purchasing processes, in order to allow consumers to make free and informed commercial choices”.
At the start of the investigation, the pre-selection of paid fast delivery was also contested. With respect to this conduct, the Authority accepted the commitments proposed by Amazon which in the future will only predefine the free delivery option. Furthermore, the two companies will provide compensation to consumers who turned to Customer Service to complain about this conduct during 2023.
Amazon’s response: “We strongly disagree, we intend to appeal”
“We strongly disagree with the decision of the Competition and Markets Authority and we intend to appeal.” Thus Amazon in a note after the Antitrust sanction. «Every day – we read – customers benefit from the program “Subscribe and Save” saving money and time on periodic deliveries of products they use regularly.” Amazon writes that since the launch of the program, customers have saved over 40 million euros, reiterating the priority “of gaining and maintaining customer trust and we will continue to work to offer them an excellent shopping experience”.
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Amazon fined 10 million for inducing consumers to make periodic purchases
New data on the German economy surprised analysts
– 2024-04-27 05:09:26
As of the end of April, the index of consumer confidence in the German economy rose to minus 24.2 points, which was the highest level in two years and exceeded analysts’ forecasts by 1.7 percentage points, Day.Az reports with reference to Lenta.ru.
At the same time, Germans demonstrate an increase in their willingness to purchase (from minus 15.3 points to minus 12.6 points) and expect wage increases (the wage growth expectation index amounted to 10.7 points versus minus 1.5 points a month earlier).
Also, the index of current economic expectations increased to 0.7 points, which looks noticeably better than minus 3.1 points in the last survey.
Consumer expert from the NIM Institute Rolf Bürkl pointed out that rising wages together with slowing inflation create the basis for an increase in the purchasing power of the population and thus bring positive results to the results.
At the same time, the IFO business climate index rose to 89.9 points in April, also being higher than forecast, for the second month in a row. Industrial growth is associated with much less pessimistic expectations.
The German PMI composite index (the indicator reflects the weighted average dynamics in the services and industrial sectors) in April 2024 rose in the growth zone for the first time in nine months, to 50.5 points. Overall, at the beginning of the second quarter of 2024, business activity in the eurozone countries is showing the greatest growth in the last 11 months.
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New data on the German economy surprised analysts – 2024-04-27 05:09:26
Privacy Breach at Kaiser Permanente Impacts 13.4 Million Members and Patients
Kaiser Permanente Privacy Breach: Millions Potentially Impacted
About 13.4 million current and former Kaiser Permanente members and patients were potentially impacted by a privacy breach, the health care provider said.
Kaiser Permanente, a leading health care provider, has recently revealed a privacy breach that has potentially impacted over 13.4 million individuals. The organization, known for its commitment to privacy and patient care, promptly took action to address the issue.
Possible Data Collected: IP Addresses, Names, and Website/App Navigation
The breach involved unauthorized collection of sensitive data, including IP addresses, members’ names, and records indicating how members browsed Kaiser’s website and mobile applications. It was identified that this data collection was caused by code embedded on the affected sites.
A Privacy Breach, Not a Data Breach
Significantly, experts have categorized this incident as a privacy breach rather than a data breach. In a data breach, the objective is to illegally gain access to and sell individuals’ personal information. However, Kaiser’s privacy breach involved the sharing of personal data with other organizations, potentially including Twitter/X, Google, and Microsoft.
Dr. Clifford Neuman, Director of USC Center for Computer Systems Security, comments, “In the case of a privacy breach, which this seems to be, it’s an instance where Kaiser shared personal data with other organizations, in this case, potentially Twitter/X, potentially Google, potentially Microsoft.”
Kaiser Permanente’s Response and Investigations
Kaiser Permanente responded promptly to the breach by conducting a voluntary internal investigation into the use of online technologies. They swiftly identified the issue and subsequently removed the implicated technologies from their websites and mobile applications.
Remarkably, Kaiser Permanente has reassured its affected members that no usernames, passwords, Social Security numbers, financial account information, or credit card numbers were included in the data inadvertently transmitted to third parties including Twitter/X, Google, and Microsoft.
Ensuring Security and Safeguarding Members
Apologizing to its members, Kaiser Permanente assured them that they have taken necessary steps to prevent the recurrence of similar data privacy breaches in the future. The organization has implemented enhanced safeguards and implemented additional measures to ensure the utmost security of members’ sensitive information.
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Privacy Breach at Kaiser Permanente Impacts 13.4 Million Members and Patients