Close Menu
TechCentralTechCentral

    Subscribe to the newsletter

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube LinkedIn
    WhatsApp Facebook X (Twitter) LinkedIn YouTube
    TechCentralTechCentral
    • News

      One in 10 South Africans owns crypto

      1 December 2023

      Spar ‘ignored whistle-blower’ on botched SAP project

      1 December 2023

      TCS | Revix founder Sean Sanders on the creation of Altify

      1 December 2023

      IT Leadership Series: Shoprite Group head of digital tech Debbie Cunningham

      1 December 2023

      South Africa’s Revix is now Altify after big crypto merger

      1 December 2023
    • World

      Musk’s Cybertruck is here – and it’s expensive

      1 December 2023

      ‘No chance’ of super-intelligent AI soon: Microsoft

      1 December 2023

      Microsoft developing Xbox store to take on Apple, Google

      1 December 2023

      ‘Go f… yourself’: Musk lashes out at fleeing advertisers

      30 November 2023

      Microsoft to take non-voting position on OpenAI board

      30 November 2023
    • In-depth

      Africa has a feature phone problem

      23 November 2023

      Is your ISP monitoring your online activity?

      10 November 2023

      The real Big Brother Africa

      2 November 2023

      Compared: Starlink prices around the world – including Africa

      30 October 2023

      Africa is booming

      30 October 2023
    • TCS

      TCS+ | OneTrust’s Joseph Byrne: privacy risk management done right

      29 November 2023

      TCS+ | Ricoh – safe and secure role in today’s digital ecosystems

      27 November 2023

      TCS+ | NEC XON on going toe to toe with cybercriminals

      22 November 2023

      TCS | How ShotSpotter is fighting gun crime in Cape Town

      13 November 2023

      TCS+ | SOC-as-a-service: CYBER1 SOC and the future of cybersecurity

      13 November 2023
    • Opinion

      Could Cape Town become Africa’s Silicon Valley?

      14 November 2023

      Chris Kruger: What I learnt in my decades in IT leadership

      6 November 2023

      Ransomware attacks: how South African companies should respond

      6 November 2023

      Fibre providers urged to go ‘nano’ to cut costs

      31 October 2023

      Big banks, take note: PayShap should be free

      20 October 2023
    • Company Hubs
      • 4IRI
      • Africa Data Centres
      • Altron Document Solutions
      • Altron Systems Integration
      • Arctic Wolf
      • AvertITD
      • CallMiner
      • CoCre8
      • CYBER1 Solutions
      • Digicloud Africa
      • Digimune
      • E4
      • Entelect
      • ESET
      • Euphoria Telecom
      • iKhokha
      • Incredible Business
      • iONLINE
      • LSD Open
      • Maxtec
      • MiRO
      • NEC XON
      • Next DLP
      • Paratus
      • Ricoh
      • Skybox Security
      • SkyWire
      • Velocity Group
      • Videri Digital
    • Sections
      • AI and machine learning
      • Banking
      • Broadcasting and Media
      • Cloud computing
      • Consumer electronics
      • Cryptocurrencies
      • E-commerce
      • Education and skills
      • Energy
      • Fintech
      • Information security
      • Internet and connectivity
      • Internet of Things
      • Investment
      • IT services
      • Metaverse and gaming
      • Motoring and transport
      • Open-source software
      • Public sector
      • Science
      • Social media
      • Talent and leadership
      • Telecoms
    • Events
    • Advertise
    TechCentralTechCentral
    Home » Sections » Investment » New EU rules regulating US tech giants likely to set global standard

    New EU rules regulating US tech giants likely to set global standard

    By Agency Staff25 March 2022
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Margrethe Vestager

    Landmark EU rules targeting Google, Amazon.com, Apple, Meta Platforms and Microsoft are likely to set a global benchmark and may even force changes in the tech giants’ business models, lawyers and experts said.

    Europe’s antitrust chief, Margrethe Vestager, on Thursday won backing from European Union members and EU lawmakers for her proposal, the Digital Markets Act (DMA), to rein in the powers of the tech giants via legislation for the first time, rather than lengthy antitrust investigations.

    The DMA sets out a list of dos and don’ts targeting each tech giant’s core business practices.

    The flexibility that big tech had will be constrained, as the regulatory ‘straitjacket’ will get tighter globally

    “DMA is here to stay and will be quickly mirrored in a number of countries. The flexibility that big tech had will be constrained, as the regulatory ‘straitjacket’ will get tighter globally,” said Ioannis Kokkoris, competition law professor at Queen Mary University in London.

    Vestager’s switch to legislation came amid frustration over slow-moving antitrust investigations that deliver remedies criticised by rivals as inadequate, with Google often cited as an example despite being hit with more than €8-billion in fines.

    The new rules may even spur tech giants to rethink their strategy on long-term goals and swap their business models for others.

    “If it succeeds, the DMA will put pressure on monopoly rents of gatekeepers in tipped markets, thereby encouraging them to move towards more long-term innovation targets,” said Nicolas Petit, professor of competition law at the European University Institute in Florence.

    “I think the DMA indirectly places a premium on business models based on subscriptions or device-level monetisation. We might see more [increased] prices, and vertical integration into hardware in the future,” he said.

    Enforcement

    Still, enforcing the DMA will require a bigger team than the small group planned by the European Commission, said Thomas Vinje, a partner at law firm Clifford Chance in Brussels who has advised rivals in cases against Microsoft, Google and Apple.

    “The commission suggested upon proposing the DMA that it would be enforced by a team of 80 people. This will not be enough to enable effective enforcement,” he said.

    “Another big question is who in the commission will enforce it. Only DG Comp (competition officials) has the technical and industry knowledge and experience dealing with such companies to effectively enforce the DMA. If others in the commission, such as DG Connect (digital officials), are to enforce the DMA, it will be a dead letter.”

    The DMA is just the first step towards making sure that tech giants play fair, said Alec Burnside, a partner at law firm Dechert in Brussels.

    The degree of adverse impact on big tech will depend on the extent they can persuade the commission of the lack of any anticompetitive effect

    “The DMA is not a perfectly formed panacea from the start, and without doubt gatekeepers will try to navigate around it. Rome was not built in a day, nor was the highway code perfect when first conceived,” he said. “New rules of the road for the digital economy will be shaped over the period ahead, and the DMA is a crucially important first step.”

    There may be some wiggle room for the tech giants to dodge the full impact of the DMA, said Kokkoris.

    “The degree of adverse impact on big tech will depend on the extent they can persuade the commission of the lack of any anticompetitive effect,” he said.  — Foo Yun Chee, (c) 2022 Bloomberg LP

    Margrethe Vestager
    Share. Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp Telegram Email
    Previous ArticleDecentralised finance, the ‘end of banks’ – and what comes next
    Next Article Outa takes aim at Sentech over ‘rushed’ set-top box tender

    Related Posts

    One in 10 South Africans owns crypto

    1 December 2023

    Spar ‘ignored whistle-blower’ on botched SAP project

    1 December 2023

    Unsecured lending: the key to unlocking SME potential in South Africa

    1 December 2023
    Promoted

    Unsecured lending: the key to unlocking SME potential in South Africa

    1 December 2023

    Sasfin | Empower your future with strategic investment accounts

    1 December 2023

    5G home broadband a big opportunity for African operators

    30 November 2023
    Opinion

    Could Cape Town become Africa’s Silicon Valley?

    14 November 2023

    Chris Kruger: What I learnt in my decades in IT leadership

    6 November 2023

    Ransomware attacks: how South African companies should respond

    6 November 2023

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the best South African technology news and analysis delivered to your e-mail inbox every morning.

    © 2009 - 2023 NewsCentral Media

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.