Amazon faces EU scrutiny over its ad transparency and recommendation algorithms

American multinational technology company Amazon is facing increased scrutiny from the European Union over the transparency of its featured ads and recommendation algorithms.

The European Union filed another request for information (RFI) with Amazon on Friday regarding its compliance with the bloc’s digital laws, in what could be its most aggressive move yet against a major market.

The developments highlight an area where EU regulators are intensifying their scrutiny of the e-commerce giant, as the bloc has requested additional information on Amazon’s risk assessment protocols, advertising transparency policies and recommendation systems.

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Platforms and services are required by the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA) to comply with a number of governance rules, including those relating to content moderation.

The DSA requires VLOPs to proactively assess systemic risks that may arise on their platforms and take steps to mitigate the issues. Platforms are also required to document their compliance processes.

“In particular, Amazon is required to provide detailed information on its compliance with the provisions on the transparency of recommendation systems, the input factors, features, signals, information and metadata applied to such systems, and the option offered to users to opt out of being profiled for recommendation systems,” the EU wrote. “The company must also provide further information on the design, development, implementation, testing and maintenance of the Amazon Store Ad Library online interface and supporting documentation regarding its risk assessment report.”

Amazon faces EU scrutiny over ad transparency and recommendation algorithms first appeared on Latest Nigeria News | Top Stories from Ripples Nigeria.