The European Union has been too slow regarding its intervention against US Big Tech companies, a new report from an external auditor has said.
Single European Sky
Margrethe Vestager has been leading the charge against US-based technology companies such as Facebook and Amazon to ensure they do not use unfair tactics to dominate and monopolise the European markets.
The sanctions placed upon such companies were recently extended, meaning that when they operate in Europe, they will be under stricter regulations than smaller companies.
The bloc has recently levied antitrust charges against Amazon, accusing them of shirking competition within the market.
A second investigation into the company was recently launched.
It has been a decade since the EU launched its first analysis into Google's online shopping comparison service, but the tech titan has been appealing the €2.4 billion fine since it was ruled against them.
The new report has found the antirust measures placed against Amazon might negatively affect the rulings against them, urging them to intervene sooner.
It says: “The Commission has currently no tools in its hands that would allow it to intervene before competition problems would occur."
"The EU usually looks at competition issues through the lens of market shares of companies, prices of goods or services and profit margins."
The report adds these criteria were not sufficient to "define market power and evaluate competition when it comes to scrutinising the power of companies like Google and Amazon owing to their dual role as both a marketplace and retailer.
Vestager herself has already acknowledged the need for better measures against Big Tech companies in order to curb their market power and ensure a level playing field.
The new Digital Services act has increased tensions between the two parties, as companies such as Amazon are finding ways to avoid paying similar taxes - such as the UK's version - entirely.
The EU's digital services act is expected to be ratified by the end of the year and marks the first major piece of online regulation the bloc has officiated in over two decades.
Part of this new proposal is forcing companies to share data to allow for a more even playing field when trading in e-commerce markets. It will also stop companies with more resources for unfairly undercutting their competitors.
The report concludes that the regulations in place remain archaic and ineffective, stipulating the need for them to reorganised and updated to prove effective against savvy corporations.
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