From: Atlantic-Community.org
The EU regulatory structures have not kept pace with the rapidly evolving IT industry, amounting to “regulatory madness”. Regulation has its place in monitoring the gathering of information and the provision of services via novel platforms, but not in probing into hugely popular businesses as a covert way to reclaim space for European firms. The EU should instead turn its attention to fostering a clean and clear playground, reassuring entrants of their safety from out-of-nowhere persecution.
The whole trend started back in mid-2000s; it was the time when the European Commission’s battle with Microsoft over product bundling malpractices culminated into one cornerstone decision by the then European Court of Justice (and now Court of Justice of the European Union, CJEU). The court tried, by imposing a voluminous fine on Microsoft, to cure what it was viewed as a heavily distorted music player and browser software market within the Union.
Back at the time, the legal basis for that conflict was on a prime matter for the EU reality: consumer protection and fairness in market competition. As a result, the decision and the hard line adopted by EU authorities was heralded positively by a significant share of the stakeholders within the EU. There were, however, equally many and important actors voicing their concern over the fact that the Commission, in an effort to stay in control of matters as fast-evolving as software products and services, was abruptly pulling together jurisprudence and case law from a wide range of sectors. In doing so, it attempted to use them as the raw material for quickly constructing a prototype software market regulation framework.
Leave a Reply