Germany's competition authority said Tuesday it had opened an inquiry into online retail giant Amazon over potential "anti-competitive practices", using a new law giving regulators more power to rein in big tech companies. "We are first of all examining whether Amazon is of paramount significance for competition across markets," said watchdog head Andreas Mundt, adding that under the new law, the regulator could "take early action against and prohibit possible anti-competitive practices by Amazon". kih/hmn/lth