Is Silicon Valley In The Crosshairs Of EU Regulators?

Earlier this week, we reported that Google is gearing up for a potential anti-trust fight with the European Union.

As it turns out, Google may not be alone.

Apple, Amazon, Uber, Netflix – name a dominant tech firm, and odds are regulators in Brussels are gearing up to take on a full investigation of Internet platforms in the hopes of getting a closer look at whether their dominance is a function of being awesome or of anti-competitive business practices.

The 17-page draft blueprint for a “digital single market” did not name any names of companies that would be regulated and even praises the success digital platforms have had in changing the world, though the document also warns that this success creates “new regulatory questions.”

And it seems that is a question that Brussels may be preparing to answer with a full tilt regulatory offensive across the eCommerce landscape.

“Some platforms can control access to online markets and can exercise significant influence over how various players in the market are remunerated,” the draft states, according to Financial Times.

The DSM strategy is just the start of a long process; regulators have noted that is just a first step toward the more difficult rule making.

“This is a road map — not legislation,” said one person who follows the process. “The real fight will not start for some months, when actual policies are made.”

Final proposals are expected to be published next week.