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The EU legislator who will lead the EU’s flagship technology regulation through the European parliament has said it should focus on the five largest technology companies in the US.
Andreas Schwab, a German MEP and longtime Google critic, spoke after France and Germany called for the EU to be tougher with Big Tech. He said Google, Apple, Amazon, Facebook and Microsoft were the “biggest problems” in EU competition policy.
“Let’s focus first on the biggest problems, on the biggest bottlenecks. We go down the line – one, two, three, four, five – and maybe six with Alibaba, ”he told the Financial Times.
“But we do not start with the number 7 to include a European goalkeeper just to please [US president Joe] Biden, ”he added.
The EU defines gatekeeper companies as those that cover several countries, have a significant impact on the market and relate a large number of users to a large number of companies.
Its position is likely to be seen as anti-American, at a time when the EU is focusing on rebuilding transatlantic ties.
Schwab is also part of the EPP, a powerful political alliance that includes German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission.
Last December, Brussels unveiled its plan to tackle Big Tech’s market power. The new regulations described revenue and market share thresholds as yes define up to 20 companies as “porters”, including EU-based companies such as Booking.com.
But in a new report, to be released on Monday, Schwab called for higher market capitalization thresholds of 100 billion euros, instead of 65 billion euros in the original proposals, and a turnover of 10 billion euros in the last three years, instead of 6.5 billion euros
He also defined a gatekeeper as a company that offers “two or more basic platform services,” meaning platforms like Booking, which mostly offer a service, would not fall within reach.
“The scope of the [Digital Markets Act] those companies, which play an indisputable role as a gatekeeper due to their size and impact on the internal market, should be clearly targeted, ”the report said.
Separately, Schwab said large online platforms should be forced to be more transparent about ways to make money with online advertising. He said the business model was a “big black hole,” adding that transparency was key to fostering competition on the continent.
His report, while not binding, has been widely expected in Brussels because it is seen setting the tone for months of tough debates over the Digital Markets Act.
Last week, France, Germany and the Netherlands asked the European Commission enact even tougher rules against Big Tech to prevent them from acquiring small businesses to kill competition.
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