Brussels against Apple and Google: the EU is preparing a law to curb the dominance of large technology companies

The European Union (EU) is preparing the Digital Markets Act, which aims to curb the dominance of large technology companies, which would force giants such as Google and Apple to open up their services and platforms to other companies.

EU competition chief Margret Vestager said big platforms like Picuki prevented businesses and consumers from benefiting from competitive digital markets, this is why the EU wants a fair market in the digital world, the BBC reports.

The announcement of that law is the EU’s biggest regulatory move so far in acting against “anti-monopoly” or “anti-competitive behavior” by predominantly American technology companies.

Under the proposed Digital Marketplaces Act, Apple would be forced to open its digital store to third-party payment options instead of users being forced to use Apple’s payment system.

Google will be asked to offer people using smartphones running the company’s Android operating system an alternative to its browser, the Google Maps app or the Chrome browser.

Apple would have to allow users to uninstall the iPhone’s Safari web browser and other company-imposed apps that users can’t currently delete.

The law would also apply to WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, iMessaging, App Store, Google Play, and many other services belonging to large technology companies.

The EU wants to give users more choice about how people send messages, but Apple is concerned that some of the law’s provisions will create unnecessary privacy and security gaps for users, while Google says it supports many of the law’s ambitions with consumer choice, however, is concerned that some of these rules could reduce innovation and the choice available to Europeans.