The European Commission, the 28-member body tasked with upholding the interests of the European Union, is going to take a look at the pros and cons of regulating Internet giants like Google, and make recommendations later this year.
The commission announced its kick-off of a comprehensive review on Wednesday. Part of the study will look at the feasibility and fallout of regulating Google, Facebook, Amazon and other Web-based giants to see if there would be a cumulative benefit for EU members.
Among the topics to be investigated: Pricing policies, transparency issues, how collected data is later used and relationships and competitiveness factors with other businesses.
The review is part of an overall Digital Single Market Strategy plan brought forward by Andrus Ansip, the vice president of the commission, Thomson/Reuters reported. Ansip has advocated for changes to copyright rules and for the relaxing of rules that restrict shipments across EU nations’ borders.
It’s not clear yet what regulations might come, though sources say the recommendations probably won’t include any fines.
“Europe has strengths to build on, but also homework to do, in particular to make sure its industries adapt, and its citizens make full use of the potential of new digital services and goods,” said Guenther Oettinger, the commissioner for Digital Economy and Society, in the Thomson/Reuters report.
Germany and France have been pushing for more regulations on Web-based business for some time.
