Günther Oettinger on Data Treasures and the Taming of Internet Giants
“It is not understandable that newspapers are responsible for the content of reader letters, but platform operators are not. However, the decisive obligation concerns the data treasures. In order to enable or strengthen competition again, monopolists must make their data treasures available to smaller service providers, especially start-ups, for a reasonable fee. This involves consumer data, industrial data and the disclosure of the corresponding algorithms. A broader access to data is preferable to the breakup of corporations. If the data treasures have to be shared, the years-long stalemate over the digital tax could also be ended. Preventing new monopolies is also a goal that must apply to European players.”
– Günther H. Oettinger (former EU Commissioner, from 2021 among others on the supervisory board of the tunnel boring machine manufacturer Herrenknecht) in “Share the digital data treasure!” (The EU Commission will soon present a legislative proposal to tame the US Internet giants – what matters), Handelsblatt, November 26, 2020, No. 230
