EU must be tougher on Big Tech say France, Germany & Netherlands

Finance ministers from France, Germany and the Netherlands have said that the EU should take a tougher stance on Big Tech, calling for a beefed-up role for regulators to make it harder for tech giants to make so-called "killer acquisitions" of start-up rivals.

A paper signed by French finance minister Bruno Le Maire, his German counterpart Peter Altmaier and Dutch economic affairs minister Mona Keijzer, criticised the EU's proposed legislation, the Digital Markets Act as lacking "ambition".

The paper has not yet been published but it has been seen by the FT. It calls on the EU to strengthen and "speed up" the scrutiny of proposed mergers, especially in relation "to strategies of platform companies consisting in systematically buying up nascent companies in order to stifle competition".

Read more: France pushes EU for increased regulation of tech giants

The three countries also urged the European Commission to grant them more powers in order to legislate and enforce tech policy at the national level. 

The news comes just days after Germany commenced antitrust investigations into both Google and Amazon.

The ministers called for "swift and proactive co-operation" between EU member states and Brussels, as well as a broadening of the legal scope for countries to take action locally.

With the Digital Markets Act passing through the European Parliament, the ministers want to see "clear and legally certain" merger and acquisitions thresholds, forcing more in-depth scrutiny.

Big Tech companies have been long criticised for engaging in "killer acquisitions". The term relates to the practice of buying up potential competitors at an early stage. Often the target companies have little revenue but technology with a high potential value, such as Facebook's $1 billion purchase of Instagram in 2021, and WhatsApp in 2014 for $19 billion.

Read more: EU set to hit Apple with antitrust charges

"Effectiveness lies in the combination of measures for all gatekeepers and a flexible approach on a case-by-case basis by taking targeted action against the very largest players. This includes our efforts to prevent them from buying up innovative start-ups on a regular basis. That is why we want all mergers and acquisitions by gatekeepers to be assessed by the regulator," said Keijzer.

EU officials are reported to be concerned by the push for more powers to curb Big Tech by member states, as it seeks to enact bloc-wide rules and take a leading role.

Earlier this year in an interview with FT, EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager, said it was in the tech companies interests to come on board with Brussels with one piece of legislation, or face the prospect of a plethora of national rules.

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