The European Commission is interested in the voice assistants of GAFA. Alexa, Google Assistant and Siri are suspected by the institution of threatening free competition. This is why an investigation "into anti-competitive practices in the consumer goods and services sector linked to the Internet of Things in the European Union" was launched, relays PhonAndroid .
Opening up the competition
Until very recently, when Siri was asked to search for music, it was impossible to choose Spotify as the default platform. If a question is asked to Alexa, the assistant developed by Amazon, it redirects to the merchant's sales platform. As for Google Home, the searches carried out via the assistant return to results provided by the search engine of the American giant.
This European Commission investigation highlights the threat that the concentration of these services poses to the consumer. No sanction is promised for the moment, the institution is trying to perceive the competitive challenges of the sector and what solution to consider to play other companies, specifies the specialized media. The survey will focus on more than four hundred companies in the sector.
The issue of personal data
The subject of concern concerns personal data. “Access to large amounts of user data seems to be the key to the success of this sector. Also, we must ensure that market players do not use the control they exercise over this data to distort competition or close these markets to competitors, "said Commissioner Marghrete Vestager.
This investigation should lead to a preliminary report for consultation in early 2021, said PhonAndroid . The final report will have to wait until mid-2022.
High-Tech
Apple allows to block the sending of personal data by Siri with an update of iOS
High-Tech
Google Assistant: The validation by voice of an online payment currently under test
- High-Tech
- Economy
- Amazon
- Apple