Big Tech mergers: EU prepares new rules but three countries want more control
Summary
LONDON — The European Union needs to be more ambitious in its control of Big Tech and smaller acquisitions that often go under the radar, Germany, France and the Netherlands say. It has long been a concern for European capitals that some of the worlds biggest tech companies have bought up start-ups, including in the EU, in deals that have escaped scrutiny because they did not meet a certain turnover threshold. Marietje Schaake, president of the CyberPeace Institute, told CNBCs "Street Signs" on Thursday that the position of Germany, France and the Netherlands illustrates "growing concern with the way existing competition or antitrust rules can apply in a digital world." In their statement Wednesday, the three nations said the EU should set "clear and legally certain thresholds for acquisitions by gatekeepers of targets with relatively low turnover, but high value." "On mergers we are still a bit behind," he told CNBC at the same conference, adding that over the past 20 years, Google, Amazon, Facebook, Microsoft and Apple have acquired 1,000 firms and none of these deals has been prohibited.