The European Commission published, on Wednesday 9 June, the preliminary results of its competition sector enquiry into markets for consumer Internet of Things (IoT) related products and services in the European Union.
Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice-President for Competition Policy, recalled that the consumer Internet of Things is a relatively new sector, which is “booming”. More than half of European citizens watched their favourite shows on a smart TV in 2020. “Revenues from smart home appliances are predicted to double and reach almost 40 billion euros by 2025”, she said.
“We saw indications that some practices that we know too well may lead to tipping and to the emergence of gatekeepers (companies in a position to control access to the market, editor’s note). This is why we launched our sector inquiry less than a year ago. And from the preliminary results published today, it appears that our concerns are shared by many players”, added Ms Vestager during a press conference.
According to the report, respondents raised concerns regarding certain exclusivity and tying practices in relation to voice assistants, as well as practices limiting the possibility to use different voice assistants on the same smart device.
The Preliminary Report also sets out a number of potential concerns raised by respondents in respect of the position of voice assistants and smart device operating systems as intermediaries between users, on one side, and smart devices or consumer IoT services on the other side. This position would allow them to control user relationships. In this context, respondents also raised concerns in relation to the discoverability and visibility of their consumer IoT services.
In addition, providers of smart device operating systems and voice assistants seem to have extensive access to data, including information on user interactions with third-party smart devices and consumer IoT services.
The findings of the Preliminary Report on the sector enquiry will now be open to public consultation for a period of twelve weeks, until 1 September 2020. The Commission plans to publish the final report in the first half of 2022.
The information gathered in the sector enquiry will provide guidance for the Commission’s future enforcement and regulatory activity.
Link to the interim report: https://bit.ly/3pzjTPZ (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)