The Anti-Monopoly Campaigners Taking On Big Tech in Europe

Under Ursula von der Leyen’s presidency, the European Commission (EC) has moved to firm up what she refers to as “tech sovereignty.”

Among other European Union efforts to regulate Big Tech and ensure European tech sovereignty, earlier this year, the European Parliament voted to approve the Digital Markets Act (DMA). In a press release announcing the passing of the DMA, the EC said the bill is intended to “comprehensively regulate the gatekeeper power of the largest digital companies.”

As PYMNTS reported at the time, the response of American Big Tech was a unanimous “that’s not fair!” with Amazon, Alphabet and Meta all arguing that the legislation would stifle innovation, threaten their intellectual property rights and limit freedom of choice for European consumers.

Learn more: Big Tech Blasts EU’s Landmark Digital Markets Act

But while a handful of international corporations argue that the DMA is unduly burdensome on their business models, campaign groups have been making the opposite argument — that the DMA alone doesn’t go far enough and that it needs to be complemented with more direct intervention.

In recent years, a group of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have taken up the mantle in efforts to resist the perceived threats posed by Big Tech.

Echoing the European Commission, one such NGO, the Netherlands-based Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO), sums up the concerns of anti-monopoly campaigners: “A handful of tech companies have become global gatekeepers to the modern world. Companies including Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft set the terms of communication for billions of internet users and have a sphere of influence that is rapidly expanding to encompass social and government institutions, other businesses, consumers, and citizens.”

NGOs Take on Amazon

In a recent document submitted to the EC, SOMO and ten other NGOs voiced their opposition to one specific “gatekeeper” — Amazon.

The submission was made in response to an EC call for evidence concerning two ongoing probes into Amazon’s business practices in the EU. Specifically, the EC asked for relevant parties to come forward with feedback on commitments the firm made to change the way the Amazon marketplace lists goods, which the EC has claimed unfairly favors Amazon’s own products and distribution services.

Related: Amazon Pitches Deal to Remedy EU Antitrust Charges While Watchdog Seeks Feedback

In their submission to the EC, the NGOs made the case that many of Amazon’s commitments are changes that the company will have to make under the DMA anyway.

Furthermore, the group argued that “the commitments do not address the root causes of Amazon’s abuse of its dominant position,” and that “the only way ultimately to eliminate these conflicts is [using] structural legal remedies, such as legally separating Amazon’s marketplace from its retail and logistics operations.” 

See also: NGOs Criticize Amazon’s Plan to Mollify EU Regulators

When PYMNTS reached out to Amazon for a response to the NGOs’ letter, a spokesperson referred to a previous statement by the firm concerning the Commission’s investigation:

“While we have serious concerns about the Digital Markets Act unfairly targeting Amazon and a few other U.S. companies and disagree with several conclusions the European Commission made, we have engaged constructively with the commission to address their concerns and preserve our ability to serve European customers and the more than 185,000 European small- and medium-sized businesses selling through our stores. No company cares more about small businesses or has done more to support them over the past two decades than Amazon.”

As an indication that the company is on the right track to appease the EC and avoid a hefty fine, earlier this month, EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said that “the commitments offered by Amazon appear relevant to address the harm and have the potential to transform Amazon’s business model.”

Read more: Amazon Antitrust Commitments ‘Appear Relevant’ to EU Concerns

However, she added that the EC has yet to conclude its assessment of stakeholder feedback, which includes the submission of the anti-monopoly NGOs.

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