Amazon Hit by German Warning Over Price Controls on Marketplace

Amazon packages ready for dispatch at a distribution center in Germany.

Photographer: Ina Fassbender/AFP/Getty Images

Amazon.com Inc. was warned by Germany’s antitrust watchdog that price controls for retailers on its marketplace are likely to violate national and European Union laws.

The Federal Cartel Office said it told Amazon that — in its preliminary assessment — the company’s policing of how much retailers charge runs contrary to regulations for the digital economy and fair competition.