The European Commission announced the launch of a competition investigation into the connected devices market. The open-ended inquiry focuses on wearables and smart home devices that can be connected with digital voice assistants or mobile phone apps.
Competition Commissioner Magrethe Vestager said she was concerned about the large amounts of personal data collected through such services and wanted to make sure market players are not using the data to distort competition or exclude competitors. The investigation should help the Commission understand better how to apply competition law in the growing sector, she said.
In the coming weeks, the Commission will send requests for information to a range of players active in the consumer IoT market in the EU. These may include smart device manufacturers, software developers and related service providers. Under EU antitrust rules the Commission can require companies and trade associations to supply information, documents or statements as part of a sector inquiry.
The Commission expects to publish a preliminary report on the replies for consultation in the spring of 2021. The final report would follow in the summer of 2022.The inquiry dovetails with other recent investigations by the Commission competition authorities, such as Google's pending takeover of Fitbit and Apple's practices in the app store and mobile payment markets. The Commission is also looking at developing new competition rules, including ex ante regulation, in the tech sector, with proposals expected by year-end.
