[ad_1]
Global regulators are ganging up on Big Tech.
Last week, the UK’s competition watchdog launched its first-ever antitrust investigation into Apple. The Competition and Markets Authority is concerned the Silicon Valley tech giant may be abusing its position as the gatekeeper of its App Store by imposing unfair and anti-competitive terms on other app developers using its ecosystem.
Hours after the UK opened a probe against Apple, it emerged Brussels was also preparing to bring charges against the iPhone maker over broadly similar concerns brought to the EU by music streaming service Spotify.
Amazon is also back in the spotlight: The Financial Times has the scoop on how EU antitrust investigators are looking to build a case against the online retailer for allegedly manipulating its algorithm to highlight its own products instead of those of rivals, which are often cheaper and better quality.
People following the case told the Brussels Briefing that regulators were struggling to understand how Amazon’s algorithm worked and have sent a series of questions to determine the criteria the system used to select some products over others.Â
But the EU’s competition arm has been met with robust financial arguments from Amazon, which contends that it would not make sense to try to kill the business of third-party sellers who use the platform to make a bulk of their sales. “It’s not in Amazon’s interest to piss off sellers,†a person with direct knowledge of Amazon’s defence said.
As antitrust probes proliferate, here’s a cheat sheet of the most high-profile cases against Big Tech in the EU:
Google’s adtech
Allegations: The EU is concerned that the search giant has a dominant position in the online advertising market, where it acts as a middleman between publishers and advertisers. Antitrust investors have sent out multiple questionnaires asking rivals about Google’s behaviour and how companies have reacted to a series of recent rule changes.
Company’s response: Google has said it gives users control over the use of their data and that it is co-operating with authorities.
Amazon Marketplace
Allegations: Regulators worry that the ecommerce company is abusing its position as both the marketplace and a seller of goods on its platform. There are broad concerns that Amazon may have incentives to favour its own offerings over those of smaller sellers.
Company’s response: It is not in the interest of Amazon to destroy the business of third-party sellers because they represent a good chunk of its profits, the company has said.
Amazon’s buy box
Allegations: The EU believes Amazon is somehow manipulating its code to showcase its products in the so-called buy box, which prompts users to add similar products to their shopping cart as they navigate the site. Brussels suspects that the criteria used by Amazon will have a bias towards its own products, to the detriment of third-party sellers.
Company’s response: It doesn’t make sense to try to undermine sellers that also help with Amazon’s offerings to its customers, the company argues.
Facebook MarketplaceÂ
Allegations: As with Amazon, Brussels believes that Facebook may be using the information it gathers from sellers using its Marketplace service to gain a competitive edge. As a result, regulators have sent a series of questionnaires asking rivals in the classified ads business if Facebook is distorting competition.
Company’s response: Facebook has said that compliance with the rules is crucial when developing services such as this one.
Apple’s ecosystem
Allegations: The EU has accused Apple of being the gatekeeper of its ecosystem, which spans Apple Music, eBooks, cloud computing, gaming and payments. The company is under suspicion of setting the terms and rules of its App Store to its own benefit, and to the detriment of the rest.Â
Company’s response: Apple has accused music streaming service Spotify, one of its biggest rivals, of pedalling misleading rhetoric.Â
Chart du jour: baby bust
The coronavirus pandemic has created the biggest gap between births and death in Italy in over a century. The disparity is not just down to a high number of deaths, but also falling births. (chart via FT) Across Europe, fertility rates have declined. France, typically with one of the higher fertility rates on the continent, has seen 13 per cent fewer births in January compared with the same month last year.
Around Europe
-
The EU exported 34m doses of Covid-19 vaccines between February 1 and March 9, including 9m to the UK and almost 4m to Canada, according to figures shown to EU ambassadors on Wednesday. (NYT) The revelations came amid an escalating diplomatic battle over Europe’s vaccine supplies and accusation from EU leaders about export blocks in the UK and US. The Irish Times’ Naomi O’Leary dismissed hopes in Dublin that the country will be able to access spare vaccines not being used in the bloc. Brussels, meanwhile, said that the UK did not have a vaccine export ban after a series of tit-for-tat exchanges sparked by EU Council president Charles Michel, who attempted to clarify his position, writing on Twitter that there are “different ways of imposing bans or restrictions on vaccines/medicinesâ€.
-
Voters in Madrid will head to the polls in May after the region’s governing centre-right coalition of the People’s party and Ciudadanos collapsed on Wednesday. The move followed infighting within the coalition and a vote of no confidence in the People’s party by Ciudadanos in the regional government of Murcia. (AP/El Mundo/FT)
-
Politico’s Matthew Karnitschnig writes on the tendency of senior EU policymakers to choose think-tanks and online forums for “interviews†— dodging the scrutiny that comes with questions from journalists.
-
Simon Kuper explains the enduring appeal of “normaal†Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who is widely expected to win another four-year term in elections next week. (FT)
Coming up today
EU justice ministers dial in for an informal videoconference to discuss data retention for criminal cases and fundamental rights from 10am (CET).
[ad_2]
Source link
