From Benedikt Blomeyer, EU Policy Director, Allied for Startups Brussels, Belgium
In a recent article (Report, December 1) Margrethe Vestager, European commissioner in charge of the EU’s digital policy, previewed upcoming EU proposals on the market dominance of Big Tech. Remarkably, she said the rules would not only target dominant platforms, but all those with “strong growth potential”.
That is troubling for the 10,000 startup platforms in Europe. Most, if not all, strive to be high growth. There are over 60 EU-headquartered “scale-ups” with a unicorn valuation of €1bn, including Booking.com, Delivery Hero, Ayden and Hello Fresh and a further 200 or so start-ups with a valuation over €500m.
Any plans to place growth firms under general suspicion, not just those with a dominant position, will punish success. This will stand in direct conflict with the EU’s own ambition to support European start-ups.