EU vs American tech giants – just warming up

In the past couple of years, I written a number of stories on Bane Tech detailing the multiple legal battles between Google and the European Union. Now, it seems that these bureaucratic confrontations may have just been the beginning of the EU’s desire to punish American tech success, while grabbing a chunk of the profits generated by the largest tech companies in America. The corporations under scrutiny are Apple, Google, Facebook and Amazon.

The Union is preparing an investigation into Apple’s online music streaming service to determine of the Cupertino giant is taking illegal advantage of its competitors through agreements with record labels. This is also a probable response to the ongoing suspicion that Apple has long been evading taxes by way of a deal with Ireland where the company European headquarters is based. The EU is continuing an investigation into these practices.

Meanwhile, Marge Vestager, the European competition commissioner, launched an investigation into Amazon’s online practices last week, along with other e-commerce companies. The suspicion here is that Amazon may have illegally changed prices across borders of European Union countries.

In Facebook’s case, naturally it’s the company’s privacy policy that is under suspicion. Approximately 25,000 Europeans have accused Facebook of violating their privacy rights in a separate class action. Consequently, a number of European watchdog groups are “looking into” Facebook privacy policies.

And finally, the ongoing, never-ending quest to bring Google to heel is still a top EU priority. A couple of my previous stories are linked below:

EU – keep the propaganda going – Google is the bad guy

EU hits Google again

Will the legal aggression end at some point? I highly doubt it. What do you think?

Source: Reuters, CNN Money

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George Hayes

Writer at Bane Tech

Married to my best friend since 1987. We have six grand-children and three great-grandchildren.
Began writing for Bane-Tech August 2014, due to an ever-growing passion for mobile and Android in particular.
Computer programmer 1981 to 2015. Currently retired. Active You Tuber (Mobile Geezer:
Twitter - https://twitter.com/MobileGeezer
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Sax player and singer in various bands (rock and R&R) since the mid 60's. Avid motorcycle rider (Gold Wing), bicyclist and exercise enthusiast. Extreme lover of driving and biking (motorcycle). The more thousand miles the trip, the happier I am as the driver.
Dedicated, Bible-believing Christian who makes no judgments on others .

George Hayes

Married to my best friend since 1987. We have six grand-children and three great-grandchildren. Began writing for Bane-Tech August 2014, due to an ever-growing passion for mobile and Android in particular. Computer programmer 1981 to 2015. Currently retired. Active You Tuber (Mobile Geezer: Twitter - https://twitter.com/MobileGeezer Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/mobilegeezer/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/MobileGeezer Google Plus - https://plus.google.com/b/106433550154529693622/?pageId=106433550154529693622). Sax player and singer in various bands (rock and R&R) since the mid 60's. Avid motorcycle rider (Gold Wing), bicyclist and exercise enthusiast. Extreme lover of driving and biking (motorcycle). The more thousand miles the trip, the happier I am as the driver. Dedicated, Bible-believing Christian who makes no judgments on others .