Apple on EU ‘hit list’ of tech companies
- Apple will be subjected to much tighter regulations due to its market dominance
- The EU will ensure that companies like Apple don’t have an unfair advantage
- List is likely to include Silicon Valley companies
The EU’s ‘hit list’ of tech companies comprises Apple this time. Apple is to put through much tighter rules and regulations soon. It happened so due to the market dominance of the company. This time the list is said to include up to 20 such major tech companies.
The list is most probably to include Silicon Valley giants. These companies may include Google, Facebook, and more. Strict regulations will be put on these companies to curb their market power and dominance.
The larger platforms on the list will face more stringent rules than the smaller ones. These new regulations will pressurize the companies to share data. Rivals will have easy access to competitor’s data. This will improvise transparency on how they collect information.
The list will be based on a number of criteria. It will comprise a market share of revenues and the number of users. This indicates that the likes of Facebook and Google are likely to be included. An anonymous source by FT says that the ultimate sanction needs to break up the platform giants.
For instance, forcing Apple to sequel the App Store as a completely separate business. The companies which have the power to keep their rivals off their platforms will be targeted. Often, such companies inflict conditions that make it harder for their competitors to compete.
Taking the example of Apple Music. Spotify claims that Apple does this because Apple Music users can subscribe from within the App. On the other hand, if it were to be a separate music scenario would be different. It would have to pay a 30% commission.
Why did the EU include Apple on its ‘hit list’ of tech giants?
The EU wants to corroborate that such big companies don’t have an unfair advantage. Companies have access to data on the popularity of apps which is unavailable to the rest of the market.
The firm rules and regulations will ensure that the companies give access to competitors. In such a way they will be sharing their data with their rivals.
In this case, Europe also takes an exceptional line of competition than the U.S. A report also suggested that the App Store gives Apple ‘monopoly power’ over iOS apps.
