EU says smarthome 'gatekeepers' like Apple may harm competition
The European Union has issued a preliminary report into smarthomes and the Internet of Things, saying that Apple, Google, and others could prove to be anticompetitive.
Apple's view of a smart home with the Internet of Things
As the European Commission waits on Apple's response to the charge of breaching EU competition law, it has separately been investigating smart homes. A preliminary report into the Internet of Things concludes that there may be anticompetitive practices from a small number of firms, including Apple.
"When we launched this sector inquiry, we were concerned that there might be a risk of gatekeepers emerging in this sector," said Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, in a statement. "We were worried that they could use their power to harm competition, to the detriment of developing businesses and consumers."
"From the first results published today, it appears that many in the sector share our concerns," she continued. "And fair competition is needed to make the most of the great potential of the Internet of Things for consumers in their daily lives."
The preliminary report does not say that Apple, or others, are in breach of competition laws. It says that other companies have reported that Amazon, Google and "to a slightly lesser extent" Apple, have emerged as the main competitors in the field.
"A large number of respondents, across all consumer IoT segments, point out that the main obstacle to developing new products and services is the lack of ability to compete with Google, Amazon and Apple," says the full report.
"These players have become the leading technology companies," it continues, "and built their own ecosystems within and beyond the consumer IoT sector by combining their own, and integrating third-party, products and services into a branded consumer offering with a large number of users."
Following its initial consultation, the EU is concerned about fostering "interoperability among different brands," which it describes as "important as it allows users to build IoT ecosystems with heterogeneous products, enhancing consumer choice and preventing lock-in into a certain provider's products."
Having solicited responses from companies during the research for the preliminary report, the European Commission has now begun a public consultation. Interested parties have until September 1, 2021, to submit comments.
"This analysis will feed into our future enforcement and regulatory action," said Vesteger, "so we look forward to receiving further feedback from all interested stakeholders in the coming months."
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Apple's view of a smart home with the Internet of Things
As the European Commission waits on Apple's response to the charge of breaching EU competition law, it has separately been investigating smart homes. A preliminary report into the Internet of Things concludes that there may be anticompetitive practices from a small number of firms, including Apple.
"When we launched this sector inquiry, we were concerned that there might be a risk of gatekeepers emerging in this sector," said Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, in a statement. "We were worried that they could use their power to harm competition, to the detriment of developing businesses and consumers."
"From the first results published today, it appears that many in the sector share our concerns," she continued. "And fair competition is needed to make the most of the great potential of the Internet of Things for consumers in their daily lives."
The preliminary report does not say that Apple, or others, are in breach of competition laws. It says that other companies have reported that Amazon, Google and "to a slightly lesser extent" Apple, have emerged as the main competitors in the field.
"A large number of respondents, across all consumer IoT segments, point out that the main obstacle to developing new products and services is the lack of ability to compete with Google, Amazon and Apple," says the full report.
"These players have become the leading technology companies," it continues, "and built their own ecosystems within and beyond the consumer IoT sector by combining their own, and integrating third-party, products and services into a branded consumer offering with a large number of users."
Following its initial consultation, the EU is concerned about fostering "interoperability among different brands," which it describes as "important as it allows users to build IoT ecosystems with heterogeneous products, enhancing consumer choice and preventing lock-in into a certain provider's products."
Having solicited responses from companies during the research for the preliminary report, the European Commission has now begun a public consultation. Interested parties have until September 1, 2021, to submit comments.
"This analysis will feed into our future enforcement and regulatory action," said Vesteger, "so we look forward to receiving further feedback from all interested stakeholders in the coming months."
Follow all the details of WWDC 2021 with the comprehensive AppleInsider coverage of the whole week-long event from June 7 through June 11, including details of all the new launches and updates.
Stay on top of all Apple news right from your HomePod. Say, "Hey, Siri, play AppleInsider," and you'll get latest AppleInsider Podcast. Or ask your HomePod mini for "AppleInsider Daily" instead and you'll hear a fast update direct from our news team. And, if you're interested in Apple-centric home automation, say "Hey, Siri, play HomeKit Insider," and you'll be listening to our newest specialized podcast in moments.
Comments
And these IoT players blame the big tech firms for their failures to invest in R&D, expand its talent pools, etc to compete when they have head-start for years (if not for a decade)? Yet, when they have investors fundings during the beginning years, they spent huge on (somewhat false or never materialise) marketing, nice trips and benefits, paying the top execs handsomely, etc.
And that's anti-competitive behaviour? Wow...this era's leaders and regulators sure amaze me every now and then.
And the requirement to have an AppleTV or Homepod in the house in order to use Siri on non-Apple devices (as pointed out in the keynote) is also questionable.
I think government has a role as a referee in these situations and it is hard to deny that the power of a handful of companies on our daily lives is bigger than ever before in history.
They need to be regulated and - above all - taxed in a way that levels the playing field compared to smaller companies and benefits society in the long term…
The EU, apparently, would like to kneecap any company(ies) that want to help consumers out of the current "smarthome" mess.
You might be fine in the US that the top 20 billionaires pay less than 4% in taxes, but citizens in other parts of the world want their governments to run fairer societies.
That includes billionaires paying the same or more taxes than the average Joe and large global corporations paying the same or more taxes than a small brick and mortar business that is the backbone of the local community.
And the same concept appies to “rigged” markets, unfair market entry barriers and breaches of data protection laws.
Ayn Rand, Adam Smith and Milton Friedman are long dead and the level of inequality their theories have created in the US simply displays that they are basically wrong.
I want a competitive landscape like in the car industry, where a dozen players bring innovation, choice and meaningful employment opportunities, not a Google/Apple duopoly for any kind of consumer tech, where you can’t choose a 3rd party product without sacrifices in usability and features.
Enough said. I am out of here, while applauding the EU for taking the lead here again!
What if their batteries would only provide their full power and capacity if used with their own tools.
And BTW, both Bosch and Metabo have now opened their battery tech to other vendors… a Metabo CAS battery also powers Fein, Maffell, Starmix and other super specialized ProTools. That’s what we need!!!
The EU is a bigger market, with more consumers, better quality of life, longer life expectancy, less inequality, less child poverty, less gun violence, better education and more manufacturing.
The EU itself is the most consumer friendly regulator in the world, be it data protection, food quality or consumer rights. It is also the biggest financer of science and research in the world, which explains why Google, Apple and others have big research operations for AI, chip design and algorithms in Europe.
Fun fact: if you take the top 2% of incomes and wealth out of the equation, the US is on the same level of income for the bottom 98% as the EU.
The US have more billionaires, while Europeans are happier, healthier and better educated.