The European Union plans to take a harder look at whether the collection of vast troves of consumer data by big internet companies violates competition rules, competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager said on Sunday (17 January).
"If just a few companies control the data you need to satisfy customers and cut costs, then you can give them the power to just drive rivals out of the market," Vestager told a conference of top European and US entrepreneurs and investors.
"If we analyse a merger, if we have a suspicion or concern when it comes to antitrust, if it comes to data, of course we will look at it," she said in a speech at an annual digital innovation conference in Munich. "It may be a competition problem."
Since taking over as Europe's top antitrust enforcer in 2014, Vestager has stepped up investigations into US web giants such as Google and Amazon to decide whether her agency should regulate them more tightly.
Vestager acknowledged that protecting consumer privacy goes beyond her agency's competition remit.
But she put online companies on notice that the vast power they exercise in online marketing and commerce should not make it too difficult for smaller businesses to compete in those areas.
"If a company's use of data is so bad for competition that it outweighs the benefit, then you may have to step in to restore the level playing field," she said of her role.
Read more: Vestager says EU will eye 'big data' concerns in merger probes | EurAct
"If just a few companies control the data you need to satisfy customers and cut costs, then you can give them the power to just drive rivals out of the market," Vestager told a conference of top European and US entrepreneurs and investors.
"If we analyse a merger, if we have a suspicion or concern when it comes to antitrust, if it comes to data, of course we will look at it," she said in a speech at an annual digital innovation conference in Munich. "It may be a competition problem."
Since taking over as Europe's top antitrust enforcer in 2014, Vestager has stepped up investigations into US web giants such as Google and Amazon to decide whether her agency should regulate them more tightly.
Vestager acknowledged that protecting consumer privacy goes beyond her agency's competition remit.
But she put online companies on notice that the vast power they exercise in online marketing and commerce should not make it too difficult for smaller businesses to compete in those areas.
"If a company's use of data is so bad for competition that it outweighs the benefit, then you may have to step in to restore the level playing field," she said of her role.
Read more: Vestager says EU will eye 'big data' concerns in merger probes | EurAct
