Oct 01, 2020 15:00:00

EU is considering strong regulations on GAFA such as 'Don't pre-install only your own apps on your device'

For IT companies that are forming a dominant market, such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, and

GAFA , the EU said, 'Online search engines should not prioritize their services.' It was newly discovered that we are considering strong regulations such as 'Do not pre-install only your own applications'.

Big Tech Faces Ban From Favoring Own Services Under EU Rules --Bloomberg
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-30/big-tech-faces-ban-from-favoring-own-services-under-eu-rules

US tech giants face curbs on data sharing, digital marketplaces, under draft EU rules | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-eu-tech-antitrust-idUSKBN26L293

Each giant IT company has a large platform to dominate the market, and their decisions have a great influence. In this situation, the EU has repeatedly ruled that giant IT companies have violated the Antimonopoly Act, saying that it lacks competitiveness and fairness and hinders other companies from entering the market.

Google CEO suggests that Android will not be free with sanctions of 570 billion yen for violating EU antitrust law-GIGAZINE

by Rob Bulmahn

To break the monopoly of these giant IT companies, the EU is pushing for the Digital Services Act, a framework for regulating platforms on the Internet. The Digital Services Act has not been officially announced as it is being pushed for adoption by the end of 2020, but we have obtained a draft under consideration by media outlets such as Bloomberg and Reuters.

According to this draft, in the EU, 'online search engines should not prioritize their services,' 'do not pre-install only their own applications on the device,' and 'do not restrict the uninstallation of apps.' Specific regulations such as 'Data collected on our own platform should not be used for targeting advertisements unless shared with rival companies' 'Platforms that provide advertising services must be audited for advertising indicators once a year' It is said that it is being considered.

In the draft, there is a sentence that 'it is desirable to' suppress unfair movement 'that exists in digital platforms that other companies have to rely on when dealing with customers' and policy options. In the section, there is a blacklist of platforms that are forcing unfair practices in various fields such as marketplaces, app stores, social networks, online search engines, operating systems, and cloud services.