China’s State Administration of Market Regulation (SAMR) has fined online value fashion Vipshop CNY3 million after it found the operator of VIP.com developed and used an AI system to obtain information on brand sellers selling on its platforms and those of competitors. SAMR says Vipshop used this data to put pressure on suppliers to only sell through VIP.com.

It used a variety of means to achieve this, including blocking traffic to certain product pages, making inventory invisible on site or directing user traffic to sellers that agreed to be exclusive partners. While the fine is not excessive, the message sent to ecommerce operators is clear, especially with new anti-monopoly legal measures now enshrined in law.

Source: SAMR