Nextcloud on German national TV: EU plans for Big Tech regulation

Post date

May 10, 2023

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Author

Mikaela Schneider

Last week, Nextcoud CEO Frank Karlitschek appeared on one of Germany’s biggest public service TV broadcaster’s: ZDF. Watch the news item by ZDF here.

Interviewed in Nextcloud’s Berlin office, Frank explains the challenge the company faces up against big tech giants like Google and Microsoft.

“That’s all very difficult for us, due to the fact that Nextcloud is not pre-installed, but the corresponding products from Microsoft and Google are pre-installed, on Windows or Android, for example. It’s just very difficult for us as a small company to actually get a foothold there.”
Frank Karlitschek, Nextcloud CEO & Founder

Solutions like Nextcloud aren’t given fair opportunity in the marketplace due to these pre-installed packages that provide customers no choice.

The Digital Markets Act forges change

However, the EU wants to take action with the Digital Markets Act or DMA. Now applicable this May, the DMA aims to ensure that “gatekeeper” companies behave in a fair and transparent way online. Through limiting power and sanctions, no longer will Big Tech companies be able to force vendor lock-in and give unfair priority to their own services. For example, Apple will no longer be allowed to give preference to its own payment service in its App Store and Microsoft will no longer be allowed to pre-install its various services as a package.

Leading competition commissioner and politician Margrethe Vestager is fighting for fairer practices in the EU.

“The Big Tech companies haven’t changed their practices fast enough themselves, so now we need a law to say “this is how you should behave when you are so powerful, with power comes responsibility”
Margrethe Vestager, Danish politician

Through stricter rules, market investigations to regulate them and consequences like fines, hopefully gatekeeper companies will adhere and make the market more open.

Watch the news item by ZDF here.