EU
to review behavior of web giants in digital market
overhaul
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[May 06, 2015]
By Julia Fioretti
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European
Commission will conduct a comprehensive review this year of the role of
web giants such as Google, Facebook and Amazon to decide whether it
should regulate them more tightly, it said on Wednesday.
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The inquiry will focus on the transparency of search results and
pricing policies, how online platforms use the data they acquire,
their relationships with other businesses and how they promote their
own services to the disadvantage of competitors.
The review, which had been expected, is part of a Digital Single
Market Strategy unveiled by Commission Vice-President Andrus Ansip
on Wednesday. A wide-ranging policy paper, it lays out a variety of
proposals to boost economic growth in Europe by removing national
barriers within the EU for online services.
As with other EU inquiries into new digital businesses, including a
potentially costly antitrust suit launched last month against
Google, the biggest targets are U.S. firms which dominate the
European market -- a trend that has prompted President Barack Obama
to warn the EU against protectionism.
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Ansip's strategy includes a set of initiatives focusing on reforming
copyright and telecoms rules, knocking down barriers to cross-border
parcel deliveries and ensuring European online businesses can
compete with their bigger U.S. counterparts.
The Commission also confirmed a competition inquiry into e-commerce,
which is separate from the analysis of online platforms. Unlike the
antitrust investigation launched last month into Google, the
e-commerce competition inquiry does not carry an immediate threat of
penalties for firms involved, though such legal proceedings could be
launched as a result.
The review of online platforms is not intended to lead to penalties
for firms involved, but could see new regulation of the sector --
something Germany and France have pushed for.
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"Europe has strengths to build on, but also homework to do, in
particular to make sure its industries adapt, and its citizens make
full use of the potential of new digital services and goods," said
Guenther Oettinger, Commissioner for Digital Economy and Society.
The EU executive aims to deliver on its promises by the end of next
year, setting itself up for a battle with several industry groups,
from telecom operators to film makers.
The EU's regulation of the telecom sector will also be overhauled
next year. It will seek to coordinate the sale of airwaves, spur
investment in high-speed broadband and address competition from
services such as Facebook-owned WhatsApp and Skype.
(Reporting by Julia Fioretti; Editing by Alastair Macdonald)
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