‘Discrimination’ fury as France outlaws Amazon shipping discount books for free
France has passed a law preventing Amazon.com and other online book retailers shipping books for free.
Amazon described the law change as discrimination
The model had been perceived as anti-competitive.
Amazon described the move as ‘discrimination’.
"Any measure aimed at raising the price of books will only reduce French people's spending power and introduce discrimination against online consumers," the company said in a statement.
The law on book pricing had been in place in France since 1981, and restricted discounting to 5%. However, it did not apply to used or second-hand books.
In France, retailers are now barred from offering free shipping on a new book sold at a discounted price.
The French book policy has previously been accused of breaching EU open trading principles.