US & EU Watchdogs Unite To Boost Tech Competition

On Tuesday two US government agencies said that they and the European Commission have launched a dialogue focused on competition policy and enforcement in the technology sector, reported Reuters. The US Department of Justice Antitrust Division, the US Federal Trade Commission announced the latest initiative, after Washington and Brussels in September launched the US-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC).

The council aims to deepen transatlantic cooperation, strengthen semiconductor supply chains, curb China’s non-market trade practices and take a more unified approach to regulating big, global technology firms.

With the United States and Europe trying to restrain the growing power of American tech giants such as Alphabet’s Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon, such cooperation has become vital to regulators on both sides of the Atlantic who want to make it harder for the US tech industry to fight new rules.

The latest effort, called the EU-U.S. Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue, was launched on Tuesday by Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager of the European Commission, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan and Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter of DOJ’s Antitrust Division.

It will “include sharing insights and experience with an aim towards coordinating as much as possible on policy and enforcement,” the statement said.

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