The European Union executive is planning a law to deal
with complaints about unfair practices by leading online players such as Apple
(AAPL.O)
and Google (GOOGL.O).
The European Commission said on Wednesday in a
mid-term review of its digital strategy it would prepare an initiative by the
end of the year to address unfair contractual clauses and trading practices in
relations between platforms and businesses.
This follows proposals to remove barriers in online
services to improve European companies' chances of competing against U.S. tech
giants like Google, Apple and Facebook (FB.O).
European companies such as Spotify, Rocket Internet (RKET.DE)
and Deezer (DZR.PA)
have complained that online platforms - such as search engines and app stores -
abuse their position as gateways to customers to promote their own services or
impose imbalanced terms and conditions.
The Commission said that initial findings of an
investigation launched last year showed platforms were delisting products or
services without due notice, restricting access to data or not making search
result rankings transparent enough.
The Commission wants to establish fair practice
criteria, measures to improve transparency and a system to help resolve
disputes.
Spotify hit out at Apple last year after it rejected
an updated app for the Swedish music streaming service on iPhones, saying it
diminished its competitiveness on iOS.
HATE SPEECH
The Commission's mid-term review also looked at the
issue of hate speech on social media. It said it would coordinate more
effectively on existing initiatives - such as a code of conduct with the main
social media companies - and provide guidance on dealing with illegal content
to avoid overly zealous removals.
An earlier draft of the Commission's mid-term review
of its digital single market strategy showed it was considering legislation on
how companies should take down hate speech and incitement to violence, but that
idea has been scrapped.
*REUTERS*
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