FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 5, 2023

CONTACT: Max von Thun, vonthun@openmarketsinstitute.org

BRUSSELS - Open Markets Institute Europe Director Max von Thun released the following statement with regard to Apple’s designation as a “platform of paramount significance for competition” under Section 19a of the German Competition Act (GWB), and the approval by Germany’s federal cabinet of new powers for Germany’s competition regulator the Bundeskartellamt.

“Open Markets applauds the bold package of measures announced today by the German government, which is leading Europe’s efforts to rein in monopoly power. Apple’s formal designation under Section 19a of the GWB will allow the Bundeskartellamt to take action to break Apple’s chokehold on our mobile devices, and the countless users and app developers that depend on them. We urge the authority to come forward with concrete measures as quickly as possible, given the harm being inflicted by Apple’s dominance with every day that passes.

 The wider reforms to the Competition Act approved today by the federal cabinet go well beyond Big Tech and will help inject much-needed competition across all sectors of the economy. New powers to pursue breakups and claw back anti-competitive profits are especially welcome, and we urge the Bundeskartellamt to make full use of these new tools as soon as possible. The package also formally enshrines Germany’s role in enforcing the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which will be crucial in light of the significant resource gap between Brussels and Big Tech.” 

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The Open Markets Institute is a team of journalists, researchers, lawyers, economists, and advocates working together to expose and reverse the stranglehold that corporate monopolies have on our country.  Learn more at www.openmarketsinstitute.org.