Calls made for investigation into Amazon's Deliveroo investment
Calls have been made for the Competition and Markets Authority to investigate Amazon's investment in food delivery company Deliveroo.
Last week Amazon was announced as "the largest investor" in a new $575m (£450m) funding package for Deliveroo. Fellow investors include existing supporters of Deliveroo, T Rowe Price, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and Greenoaks.
Deliveroo said the finance will be used to grow its tech team at its UK headquarters in London, expand its reach to new customers by linking up with more restaurants, and provide ongoing innovation through its deliver-only kitchens called Editions.
Will Shu, founder and chief executive of Deliveroo, described the new funding as "great news" for restaurants and the tech sector as it will create jobs.
However, Labour's deputy leader Tom Watson tweeted: "Amazon is obsessed. Obsessed with tracking tools, micro-targeted ads, extracting billions through monetising our personal data.
"They don't want to get their mighty claws on a food delivery system. They want Deliveroo's tech and data. They don't just want to know how you eat, what you eat, when you eat. They want to know how best to extract your cash throughout your waking and sleeping hours.
"It's called surveillance capitalism. It's a digital dystopia, and I shall be writing to the Competition and Markets Authority demanding they launch an investigation into this ‘investment'."
The Competition and Markets Authority has not announced any intention to investigate.
Both Amazon and Deliveroo declined to comment.
