Today, the European Commission announced a new regulatory package to rein in Big Tech: the Digital Markets Act. This proposed law represents an important step forward in the global fight to rein in the power of Big Tech.
In June, Public Knowledge, along with the Consumer Federation of America, filed preliminary comments regarding the Digital Markets Act’s inception impact assessment. This was followed with full comments filed with the Commission in September on a new competition tool. The comments urged a focus on gatekeeper platforms and equipping a new European regulator with a broad array of powers to rein in Big Tech platforms.
The following can be attributed to Alex Petros, Policy Counsel at Public Knowledge:
“The Digital Markets Act’s emphasis on targeted digital platform-specific regulations and clear rules of the road can be a model for U.S. policymakers. We commend the Commission for its focus on the gatekeeper power of dominant tech companies and for setting clear requirements, from interoperability to transparency, as well as prohibitions, such as self-preferencing and anti-competitive data misuse, that Public Knowledge has championed.
“Competition enforcers can’t take a narrow view of just after-the-fact wrist slapping through law enforcement. Market regulation that prevents abusive practices before they happen and enforcement should work in tandem. The anticompetitive practices leading to the European law are just as prevalent in the United States, yet we lack similar legal protections. American legislators should pass their own Digital Markets Act, with even stronger enforcement mechanisms for non-compliance, unless they want a future where American companies are solely regulated by European entities.”
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