Brussels, 22/09/2015 (Agence Europe) - Just before he took off to the US on Tuesday 22 September (the trip ends on Saturday 26 September), Commissioner Günther Oettinger explained that the European Commission would take a very tough line with the unfair practices of the Internet giants. Writing on his blog just before leaving, the Commissioner for the Economy and the Digital Society explained: “Europe is ready to listen to the concerns and suggestions of the US. But we will not be lectured or pressured to back off from asking tough questions, nor impressed by cheap claims of 'over-regulation'”.
During his trip, the Commissioner is expected to meet senior US officials, such as Penny Pritzker, US secretary of commerce; Stefan Selig, under-secretary of commerce, and Edith Ramirez, chairwoman of the Federal Trade Commission. He will also visit Silicon Valley and hi-tech research centres such as Mercedes-Benz North America. He will be meeting with senior directors at major US Internet companies, commonly known as the “platforms”, whose activities will come under particular Commission scrutiny over the next few months. Günther Oettinger is also due to meet with directors at Facebook, Google, Apple and e-Bay. The Commissioner emphasised that “There are questions that need to be answered, on the power of these platforms, the way they manage the enormous troves of data they collect, and the potential harmful effects on competition and innovation that dominant players can have”. He also confirmed the imminent launch of a public consultation on the platforms question (see EUROPE 11384).
According to Oettinger, it is absolute imperative that Europe holds a debate on how the digital sector should be regulated, in an effort to promote innovation whilst protecting competition. The Commissioner is aware of the concerns and even distrust from his US counterparts regarding the European Union's digital single market strategy, presented on 6 May (see EUROPE 11309). The Commissioner believes that his visit to the US will be useful and explained that he wanted to “better understand the priorities of our most important economic partner and explain what Europe is doing with the Digital Single Market strategy. (…) Europe is not targeting companies from any specific part of the world. We want to achieve a level-playing field, where all market players - from the EU or elsewhere - must respect the same rules throughout Europe”.
On the question of standards, Günther Oettinger highlighted the need to define common international standards for ensuring interoperability between digital technologies. He will also be discussing the subject with his US counterparts and subsequently announced the forthcoming launch of a public consultation to identify key technological sectors (5G, cyber security, smart transport systems and smart cities) for which there will be a need to work out common standards.
On the question of developing start-ups, the Commissioner said that “Europe has a lot to learn from the US”, given that many European start-ups are relocating to the US where they are able to find the financing needed for their development and where regulation is less complex than in Europe, which is still governed by 28 different national markets. (Original version in French by Isabelle Lamberty)