EU Cracks Down on Tech Giants: Apple, Alphabet, and Qualcomm in Regulatory Spotlight

Apple Inc AAPL, Google parent Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL, and Qualcomm Inc QCOM executives recently met with EU Antitrust Chief Margrethe Vestager to discuss issues related to regulation and competition policy compliance. 

These meetings, part of Vestager’s broader engagement with tech leaders, including Broadcom Inc AVGO and Nvidia Corp NVDA, focused on the implications of European digital regulations, particularly the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and general competition policies.

In her meeting with Apple’s CEO Tim Cook, Vestager addressed the need for Apple to allow app distribution outside its AppStore, Reuters reports. 

They also discussed ongoing competition cases, such as those involving Apple Music. 

During her discussion with Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet and Google, topics included the design of choice screens, Google’s approach to self-preferencing about the DMA, and the Google ad tech antitrust case.

Also Read: Qualcomm Showcases Automotive Advancements at CES 2024, Announces Central Vehicle Computer Partnership with Bosch

The DMA plays a crucial role in these discussions, as it designates companies with over 45 million monthly active users and a market capitalization of 75 billion euros as “gatekeepers.” 

These gatekeepers must adhere to specific regulations, such as making their messaging apps interoperable with competitors’ apps and allowing users to choose which apps to pre-install on their devices.

Vestager highlighted the significance of chips beyond digital transition, emphasizing their importance to the EU’s economic security. 

These meetings and discussions are integral to shaping how major tech companies operate within the EU, ensuring compliance with its evolving digital and competition regulations.

The EU regulators had quite a row with the Big Tech companies slapping hefty fines on companies like Google and Microsoft Corp MSFT for flouting antitrust norms.

Companies like Microsoft came under its radar for allegedly abusing its influence by bundling its Teams videoconferencing app with its Office productivity software. 

Big merger deals came under the EU regulatory scanner, including Microsoft’s $10 billion financial support for ChatGPT parent OpenAI, Amazon.Com Inc’s AMZN IRobot Corp IRBT $1.4 billion merger agreement, Adobe Inc’s ADBE $20 billion takeover of Figma.

Also Read: Intel’s Automotive Gambit: New AI Chips to Power Future Cars, Taking On Nvidia and Qualcomm

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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