Probe on firms, ‘platforms’ ties
‘No single law’ Online
BRUSSELS, May 26, (RTRS): The European Commission will examine the terms of use of web platforms such as Google , Amazon and Apple Inc’s App Store for businesses to decide whether further regulation is needed to curb possible unfair practices.
The European Union executive on Wednesday presented the conclusions from a year-long inquiry into online platforms such as Facebook, Google and eBay, ruling out a single law for them but saying it would target specific problems in areas such as copyright and telecoms.
The Commission also proposed a reform of the bloc’s broadcasting rules which will include an obligation on providers of online video streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon to devote at least a fifth of their catalogue to European works.
EU member states will also have the option of requiring streaming services not based in that country but targeting their audience to contribute financially to the production of European works.
“I want online platforms and the audiovisual and creative sectors to be power houses in the digital economy, not weigh them down with unnecessary rules,” said
Andrus Ansip, EU Commission Vice-President in charge of Brussels’ strategy to create a single market in the digital world.
On Wednesday, the Commission also unveiled proposals to make online shopping across borders easier.
Companies
Online platforms — largely US tech companies — have come under increased scrutiny in the 28-nation bloc for their business practices as well as handling of swathes of data.
The Commission said its inquiry had highlighted a number of problems in relations between businesses and platforms, including the imposition of unfair terms and conditions, refusal of access to markets and important business data and the promotion of the platform’s own service to the disadvantage of competitors.
The EU executive will probe further into the allegedly “unfair” practices and decide if further action is needed next year.
Separately, the Commission has charged Google with abusing its dominance to promote its shopping service over rival services.
In an upcoming reform of EU telecoms rules the Commission said it will look at both deregulating telecoms companies where they face competition from similar services, such as Microsoft’s Skype or Facebook’s WhatsApp, and extending some telecoms data protection rules to platforms providing similar services.
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BRUSSELS/DUBLIN: Data transfers to the United States by companies such as Facebook and Google face a renewed legal threat after the Irish privacy watchdog said on Wednesday it would refer Facebook’s data transfer mechanisms to the top EU court.
The move follows an Irish investigation into Facebook’s transfer of European Union users’ data to the United States to ensure that personal privacy is properly protected from US government surveillance.
Facebook, like many other tech companies, has its European headquarters in Dublin and is regulated by the Irish Data Protection Commissioner (IDPC).
The IDPC said it would ask the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) to determine the validity of Facebook’s “model contracts” — common legal arrangements used by thousands of firms to transfer personal data outside the 28-nation EU.
Its investigation into the California-based company was ordered by Ireland’s High Court in October after the CJEU struck down Safe Harbour, an EU-US agreement that had allowed the free transfer of data between the European Union and the United States. The CJEU ruled the agreement did not sufficiently protect Europeans’ information against US surveillance.
Transfers of Europeans’ personal information to the United States have been a hot topic since 2013 revelations about mass US surveillance programmes such as Prism, which allowed US authorities to harvest private information directly from big tech companies such as Apple, Facebook and Google.