EU Pressures US Big Tech to "Share Data"

EU Antitrust Regulation Pressure... Suppressing Market Dominance by Sharing Data with Regional IT Companies
New Business Prospects for IT Companies Clouded

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] The European Union (EU) is considering measures to force data sharing among major Silicon Valley big tech companies in the United States. Earlier, the U.S. House of Representatives recommended that these companies undergo business breakups, and now, in less than a week, they are facing another wave of pressure.

On the 11th (local time), a major European foreign media outlet, citing a source familiar with the matter, reported that EU regulators are considering placing large IT companies on a "hit list" to curb their market dominance.

The hit list will include up to 20 IT companies based on market share criteria such as revenue and number of users. The major U.S. IT companies included on this list must share data with European competitors like Spotify. They must also transparently disclose how they obtained the information. Currently, well-known IT companies such as Google, Facebook, and Amazon are likely to be on the list. Companies with such strong market dominance that transactions cannot occur without using their platforms will also be targeted.

The EU regulators are considering this approach to change the business practices of IT companies without resorting to legal actions such as antitrust lawsuits. Previously, the EU investigated antitrust behaviors to reduce these companies' market dominance but concluded that violations did not go beyond fines. Since fines alone are insufficient to change their business practices, stronger measures like data sharing are being considered.

An EU official stated, "We missed the opportunity to stop big tech companies due to weak regulations," adding, "The dominant market position of platform companies threatens fair competition."

Alongside this, the EU is reportedly considering forcing companies that show insufficient efforts to improve antitrust behaviors and those that harm market competition for small and medium-sized enterprises to divest subsidiaries.

The EU is also preparing a bill to comprehensively overhaul internet regulations for the first time in over 20 years. The revised Digital Services Act, expected to be unveiled next month, is anticipated to strengthen platform operators' monitoring obligations regarding illegal content or products distributed on online platforms.

U.S. IT companies are currently facing criticism both domestically and internationally. On the 6th, the Antitrust Subcommittee under the U.S. House Judiciary Committee released a report stating that IT giants are abusing their dominant market positions to stifle competition and suggested that their businesses should be broken up. The subcommittee also proposed a comprehensive revision of federal laws, casting a shadow over the entry of big tech companies into new business areas in the future.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.