Europe’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Tuesday, October 8, she preferred to use fines or other penalties on rule-busting companies rather than break them up, saying that this approach would be less disruptive to the companies and the market, reported Reuters.
Vestager is staying on in her job as European Competition Commissioner for another five years and now enjoys additional regulatory power to target the technology industry as part of a broader role ensuring Europe is fit for the digital age.
According to Reuters, calls from critics and politicians to break up tech giants accused of abusing their position to squash competitors have intensified in recent months, especially in the United States.
Vestager, a former Danish economics minister, has gained a reputation as a tough enforcer, notably with a record fine totaling more than €8 billion euros (US$8.8 billion) on Alphabet unit Google for throttling rivals.
Asked if she would consider breaking up companies that violate rules, Vestager told her confirmation hearing at the European Parliament that it was not her favored option.
“Breaking up companies, well, this is a tool that we have available, it can be done. The thing is I have obligation to use the least intrusive tool in order to restore fair competition,” she told lawmakers in a packed chamber.
Full Content: Reuters
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
Canadian Breadmakers Settle Price-Fixing Lawsuit
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
EssilorLuxottica Open to Meta as Shareholder, Says CEO Francesco Milleri
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
California Supreme Court Upholds Proposition 22, Securing Independent Contractor Status for Uber and Lyft Drivers
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
Paramount Global Investor Sues to Block Skydance Media Merger
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
Software Vendors Win Class Action Status in Antitrust Case Against CDK Global
Jul 25, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – International Trade & Antitrust
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
What is Wrong with the WTO Discipline on Subsidies?
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
The Abiding Tension Between Trade Remedy Law and Antitrust
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
Trade and Antitrust: An End to Isolationism
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI
International Trade Law and Domestic Regulation of Generative Artificial Intelligence: Divergent Approaches?
Jul 26, 2024 by
CPI