‘EU will come up with rules for transparency of app stores and search engines in April’
The EU is working on a new regulation with rules for companies such as Amazon, Apple and Google. It sets requirements regarding transparency about the way results appear in their app stores or online marketplaces. The requirement also applies to their terms and conditions.
Reuters news agency writes that it has seen the draft rules, which the European Commission wants to present in April. It reports that the rules are intended to address harmful trade practices, citing the sentence: “Online intermediaries can have a superior bargaining position over their users, enabling them to act unilaterally and thus harm the businesses.” who use their services.”
Specifically, for example, online services must be transparent about how search results are displayed and how they are removed. Initially, the proposal would not be about search engines, but because of the consequences that the ranking of search results can have for companies, these services have still been included, according to Reuters. The rules don’t go so far as to require companies to share their algorithms. If search engines prioritize their own services, they should include this in their terms and conditions.
This is very similar to the objections raised by the European Commission in the Google Shopping case, for which a fine of 2.4 billion euros was imposed. In addition, companies must apply a 15-day period before making changes to their terms. Another requirement is that they provide users of their services with an “individualized description” of the reasons for removal or suspension from a platform such as Google’s or Apple’s app store.
The content of the rules resembles objections recently expressed by France against large internet companies. For example, it sued Amazon for abusing its dominant position in relation to sellers on its platform, for example by unilaterally adjusting conditions. On Wednesday, the French economy minister said he would sue Apple and Google for alleged unfair business practices towards developers.