EU seeks to turbo-charge its ability to take on Big Tech
Amazon case underlines the long timetables involved under the commission’s existing rules
It took Brussels nearly two years to bring formal antitrust charges against Amazon. New rules to curb the power of Big Tech could help accelerate future probes.
On Tuesday, Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition supremo, accused Amazon of breaking the bloc’s competition rules by using the private data it collects from third-party sellers on its platform to boost its own products and services.
The European Commission’s vice-president also announced a new formal antitrust probe into whether the US tech giant gives preferential treatment to companies that pay more for its logistics and delivery services.
The case comes as EU regulators work to draft new rules that would subject companies classified as “gatekeepers” to tougher rules in the future.
Some of the behaviour that is set to be banned outright in the mooted Digital Markets Act includes companies promoting their own services on their own platforms at the expense of competitors. Companies might also be forced to share data with smaller rivals.
Amazon is almost certain to be part of the small group of companies that would fall within the gatekeeper category, given its size and market power, people with direct knowledge of the discussions have said.
The idea would be to speed up antitrust probes by setting out from the start the behaviour that is not allowed instead of spending years proving anti-competitive actions.
Accelerating probes is seen as particularly important when it comes to Big Tech companies, which can become powerful very quickly. By the time antitrust investigations come to an end, the damage to the market is often irreparable.
Indeed, the steps the commission took against Amazon were not applauded in all quarters on Tuesday, with some figures complaining about the lengthy timetables involved.
“The opening of a formal investigation against Amazon comes very late,” said Andreas Schwab, a German MEP. “I expect the investigation to be closed before it is too late and the damage to the market and to competitors is irreversible, as has been the case in the past.”