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Large majority in favour of a strict stance against big tech
A large majority of the French, German and Spanish public are in favour of the EU taking a tough stance on Big Tech, despite the risks to relations with the Trump administration. There is also support for breaking up Google.
The German Monopolies Commission investigates the power of supermarkets
Sharp rises in food prices are a burden for many people. At the same time, farmers are under high price pressure and many producers are complaining about unfair trading practices. The Monopolies Commission is currently investigating food supply chains and market concentration in the sector. Where does the process stand today?
From Big Oil to Big Tech: the expansion of corporate tech power into the energy sector
Guest article by Dr. Silvia Weko.
Amazon has grown rapidly in recent decades. The original online bookseller has expanded its business to include logistics, AI, robotics and cloud services. Now Amazon is also making inroads into the energy sector. What does this mean for the energy transition and the power of big tech companies?
Digital tax – but done right
On May 29, the Minister of State for Culture, Wolfram Weimer, proposed a 10% advertising levy based on the Austrian model. We welcome this proposal. After all, digital companies continue to pay significantly lower taxes than other companies (9.5% instead of 23.3% according to a recent CEPS report).
Break up Google
No tech company should have the kind of monopoly power that Google has in search engines or online advertising. The EU Commission should force Google to sell parts of its group in order to curb its monopoly power. Sign now!
Monopoly power, AI and ideology at #rp25
Rebalance Now will be represented four times at re:publica from May 26 to 28. We are looking forward to the exchange on site! We will be covering various topics relating to digital monopolies, AI and competition.
Interoperability and openness between different governance models: Mastodon/Threads and Wikipedia/Google
What does it actually take for alternatives to big tech offerings to prevail – and remain different? Aline Blankertz and Svea Windwehr explored this question in the TechREG Chronicle of Competition Policy International.
“Much more could be done with competition law” – Digital expert Aline Blankertz on the fight against digital monopolies
Aline Blankertz in a KNA interview about digital monopolies and the current antitrust proceedings against Google & Co., courtesy of the KNA media service
Break up once, twice or even three times!
Progress is being made in several proceedings in the USA that could lead to a break-up of big tech companies. In addition to a possible sale of Google’s powerful advertising platforms, a sale of the Chrome browser is also on the table in the Google search proceedings. And proceedings are also underway regarding Meta, which could end in the sale of Instagram and WhatsApp. Where do the proceedings stand, what could happen next and what does this mean for digital markets?
Most company takeovers by Big Tech remain unchecked
The big tech companies are expanding their dominance inconspicuously through mergers and acquisitions. Most of these deals escape the scrutiny of the competition authorities, according to an analysis by the Dutch organization SOMO. This is a problem for innovation, diversity and fair competition. We need better merger control.
EU must force Google to comply with the DMA
Together with companies, NGOs and consumer protection organizations, we are calling on the EU Commission to take action against Google’s non-compliance with the Digital Markets Act. Especially in turbulent times like these, it is important that the EU stands by its principles and protects European citizens and companies from the abuse of power by dominant tech companies.
Open letter: Protecting democracy, promoting the public interest
Together with more than 75 organisations, we are calling on the negotiators of the German parties CDU/CSU and SPD to take concrete steps towards the control of digital platforms and digitalisation for the public interest. This includes the strict enforcement of EU rules, the closing of regulatory loopholes and the strengthening of public interest-oriented platform alternatives.
