Competition

01-03-2023

EU response to Inflation Reduction Act must not damage competitive markets

Est. 6min

Europe’s green subsidy splurge risks increasing market concentration through capture by large corporations. The EU must seek to ensure that its relaxed state aid framework benefit a wide set of companies, not just big business, argues Max von Thun. Max von …

22-11-2022

The Brief — The football cartel

Est. 5min

The behaviour of football associations like FIFA and UEFA can best be understood when they are seen as economic cartels in an industry favouring natural monopolies.

Technology 18-11-2022

The big tech world is in crisis – and that might be a good thing

Est. 5min

A year ago, shares in Meta Platforms, Inc., owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, were trading at close to $350. Now, they are valued at less than $115. Following this loss of nearly 70% of its value, Meta has laid off thousands of employees, as have many other tech companies, including Microsoft, Intel and Snapchat.

28-07-2022

UEFA’s crumbling fortress

Est. 6min

Politicians should regulate European football introducing standards of good governance, setting clear criteria for creating and accessing new leagues, as well as guaranteeing independent oversight, argues Robby Houben.

Technology 24-03-2022

Time to restore fairness and contestability in digital markets

Est. 4min

In December 2020, the European Commission presented the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) as “milestones in our journey to make Europe Fit for the Digital Age”.

Breaking digital dominance

Est. 5min

Today’s expected agreement on the Digital Markets Act is essential to crack market dominance in digital markets. However, if negotiators fail to agree on effective tools to get under the skin of the underlying business model of advertising, we risk not only stifling of innovation and poor data protection but on top of that also societal harms, such as disinformation and hate speech, write René Repasi and Paul Tang.

Technology 22-03-2022

The Digital Markets Act is one of our best tools to resist to information wars

Est. 5min

The West is involved in at least two wars in Ukraine: a military war and an information war. Meanwhile, governments pressure the largest social media platforms as they are the biggest battleground for the information war, writes Maria Luisa Stasi.

Technology 17-03-2022

Big tech is pulling tricks instead of doing what is right

Est. 6min

There is a 19th-century Russian saying - “to earn a rouble and keep one’s honour” - which applied with irony to people who try to do good, play by the rules and still receive personal gain. Like so many others in the past, the world's tech giants failed at both when Russia invaded Ukraine, writes Janusz Cieszyński.

24-02-2022

The end of European naivety

Est. 6min

The COVID pandemic has brought home the reality of the need for Europe to strengthen its industrial and technological base, write Raül Blanco and Maria Trallero.

Technology 24-02-2022

Could the EU be on the cusp of a Paris Agreement For The Internet?

Est. 4min

It’s a global issue. It’s an existential threat to our way of life. And it threatens the collapse of entire ecosystems.

Technology 15-02-2022

Don’t forget security as we set the rules for our online lives

Est. 5min

The EU takes cybersecurity seriously. And with cause. Cyber crime is rife, ransomware big business, and state actors increasingly resort to cyber interference to promote their interests and weaken adversaries.

Technology 03-02-2022

How do you say Amazon in Italian? Monopolista

Est. 5min

Italian, French, and German regulators are stepping up fines on Big Tech for antitrust and privacy violations before Europe’s upcoming Digital Markets Act risks diluting their authority.

Technology 25-01-2022

EU must resist attempts to dilute Digital Markets Act 

Est. 5min

The EU is on the brink of adopting new rules that will transform the dynamics of the digital economy and so significantly improve consumers’ experience. But it is crucially important that EU lawmakers resist last-ditch attempts by Big Tech companies to derail or neutralise these rules before they reach the statute book, writes Ursula Pachl.

Technology 06-12-2021

Why internet regulation and media freedom must go hand-in-hand

Est. 5min

The European press sector has serious concerns about the ongoing Digital Services Act negotiations in Parliament and Council, which risk undermining Europe’s free and independent press.  Victoria Svanberg is the acting vice-chair and acting chairman of NWT Gruppen AB and president …

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Politics 25-11-2021

Campus on Digital Freedom in Rome

Est. 4min

The European Conservatives and Reformists Party has put together the opportunity for  young people to learn about the digital world for a reasonable  participation fee.

Warning: Big Tech may use extended regulatory dialogues to undermine the Digital Markets Act

Est. 4min

To limit the power of internet platforms, the EU is working on the Digital Markets Act (DMA). The Commission’s draft for the DMA looks promising and shows credible ambition to address digital gatekeepers like Google or Facebook and tackle monopoly power in Europe.

Technology 05-10-2021

The Brief, powered by GIE — Facebook’s darkest hour

Est. 6min

Unprecedented internet outages, public outrage, pending lawsuits, upcoming legislation, growing competition, and privacy quarrels: Facebook is facing its darkest hour.

20-09-2021

Defending Europe starts with defending and strengthening European competitiveness

Est. 7min

As EU leaders looks towards economy recovery in the wake of the pandemic, they need to give businesses the environment needed to thrive, writes Stefano Mallia.

08-04-2021

Greater corporate tax transparency is also good for business

Est. 4min

Far from making life harder for business, public country-by-country reporting will actually improve relations with investors, and benefit both companies and consumers, writes Elena Gaita.

18-03-2021

Don’t impose new tax reporting burden on EU businesses

Est. 4min

The competitiveness of European businesses is at risk if EU introduces unilateral public country-by-country reporting, writes Krister Andersson.

Disinformation 22-01-2021

After Trump: Rule of law and Big Tech Regulation

Est. 5min

The stunning events in Washington on January 6th not only showed the fragility of modern democracies but also demonstrated the untamed power of Big Tech, writes Marc Sundermann, Paolo Cesarini and Christophe Leclercq.

From scam ads on Google and Facebook, the purchase of fake reviews on various platforms to chemicals surpassing legal limits in children’s toys sold on Wish, Amazon and eBay – the internet is rife with products, services and content which should never be offered in Europe, writes Ursula Pachl.
Technology 14-12-2020

What the Digital Services Act must do to protect online shoppers

Est. 5min

From scam ads on Google and Facebook, the purchase of fake reviews on various platforms to chemicals surpassing legal limits in children’s toys sold on Wish, Amazon and eBay – the internet is rife with products, services and content which should never be offered in Europe, writes Ursula Pachl.

Tomorrow, the European Commission will publish its proposal to address excessive power in digital markets. Zeroing in on the digital sector makes little economic sense: new limits to Big Tech’s leverage will not give the European economy the dynamism it needs to foster technological development, writes Mario Mariniello.
Technology 14-12-2020

Brussels’ digital plan leaves the key issue unaddressed

Est. 5min

Tomorrow, the European Commission will publish its proposal to address excessive power in digital markets. Zeroing in on the digital sector makes little economic sense: new limits to Big Tech’s leverage will not give the European economy the dynamism it needs to foster technological development.

There is a way to sustain online publishing and uphold privacy, says Karolina Iwańska.
Data protection 07-12-2020

The ePrivacy saga: the false choice between privacy and funding online publishing

Est. 5min

As the Council seems to have (yet again) failed to adopt a general approach for the ePrivacy regulation, one question that bears asking is: would more exceptions for online tracking support online publishers or the advertising industry? Karolina Iwańska argues that here is a way to sustain online publishing and uphold privacy