Zalando Says Differs From Other Online Platforms, EU Tech Rules Should Not Apply

Zalando, Europe’s biggest online fashion retailer, on Thursday criticised EU tech regulators for lumping it in the same group as Amazon and AliExpress, saying it should not be subject to as stringent provisions of the bloc’s tech rules as the other two companies.

The European Commission’s Digital Services Act, which came into effect in 2022 requires very large online platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content or risk fines as much as 6 percent of their global annual revenue.

Such label should not apply to Zalando, the company told Europe’s second-top court.

“Amazon, AliExpress, booking.com. Zalando differs fundamentally from these [business models]. The European Commission has not paid sufficient attention to this,” Zalando’s lawyer Robert Briske told the panel of five judges at the General Court.

“Zalando has a hybrid service which in our view is one of the issues in this case. It is not purely an online shop, not purely an online marketplace,” Briske said.

Zalando, which on Thursday said it aimed to expand its range of brands, sells its own products as well as those provided by partners.

Briske also disputed the Commission’s count of Zalando’s active users, saying its 83 million figure was erroneous and that only 30.8 million visitors to its site can be counted as active recipients in 2023 when it was classified as a VLOP.

The EU executive said there was no difference between Zalando’s business model and that of Amazon or AliExpress.

“Amazon Store, AliExpress, all operate similarly hybrid services,” Commission lawyer Liane Wildpanner told the court.

“The applicant is seeking to have the best of both worlds,” she said.

BEVH, Germany’s e-commerce association, backed Zalando while the European Information Society Institute, the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union sided with the Commission.

The General Court will rule on the challenge in the coming months. Amazon has also sued the Commission over its designation and is waiting for the court to set a date for a hearing.

The case is T-348/23 Zalando v Commission.

By Foo Yun Chee

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