EU: New “powerful” digital regulator in the works

Internet companies operating in the EU could face a crackdown from a new regulator, according to a leaked document.

The paper, which was obtained by The Wall Street Journal, lists 32 web-based businesses that are said to be “transforming into super-nodes that can be of systemic importance”.

“Only a very limited part of the economy will not depend on them in the near future,” the document states.

The companies, all but five of which are from the US, are criticised for the lack of transparency in how they operate, charging excessively high fees and exploiting their market power at the expense of consumers and other businesses in the EU.

“While EU app developers account for 42% of the global consumer app revenue, the overall EU trade balance of the app economy is negative €128 million, mostly due to the app platform fees that EU developers pay on revenue earned to North American platform owners,” the paper states.

Full Content: The Wall Street Journal

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