•C
artel law must also take the specific characteristics of online markets into consid
eration. For example, large Internet companies could abuse their dominance in
one particular area of service (e.g. online searches) by extending it to other markets
(e.g. for chargeable services obtained online). However, because the initial service is
free of charge, this type of situation has up to now been irrelevant under cartel law.
Regardless, in order to take anti-trust action and prevent abuse of market dominance,
it must be made clear that, even without direct payment of money, it can be assumed
that there is a market.
• L egal barriers and other hurdles for cross-border e-commerce must be identified
and removed. Cross-border e-commerce allows private individuals and companies
to access a larger assortment of goods and services and to profit from lower prices.15
Currently, e-commerce contributes on the whole approximately 2.5% to GDP – however, the contribution from cross-border e-commerce is one-tenth of this percentage.16
Existing obstacles (both legal and resulting from anti-competitive behaviour on the
part of market participants) must therefore be systematically removed.
• I n order for Europe to achieve global technological leadership in installing the
next generation of mobile radio networks (5G, see Item 1: Creating a gigabit optical
fibre network), the right adjustments must be made to the frequency regulation. In
particular, the member states must be able to utilise their national preferences (e.g.
coverage obligations) and first-mover advantages.
•W
e must develop a European data region policy based on common principles (e.g.
data security and informational autonomy). Trust in the digital environment is weakened whenever there is any concern that basic rights, such as the protection of personal
data by the service provider, are not being observed. According to studies, only 22% of
EU citizens have complete trust in Internet companies such as search engines, social
networks and email services.17 The legal and technical issues surrounding trans-border
data processing and use must therefore be addressed soon at the EU level.
Even in Germany, we must evaluate our legal framework with a view to digiti
sat ion. We recommend developing a digital legal code that adheres to the
previously mentioned principles of open and fair competition, data security and
informational autonomy, as well as European harmonisation. We need a convergent legal framework that comprises all of the media offerings and contains
regulations relevant to the Internet, or relevant provisions of the Telecommunications Act (Telekommunikationsgesetz (TKG)), the Telemedia Act (Telemedien
gesetz (TMG)) and the Act on Radio Equipment and Telecommunications Terminal Equipment (Gesetz über Funkanlagen und Telekommunikationsendeinrichtungen (FTEG)), and also additional aspects of technical regulations.
15 Duch-Brown, N. and Martens, B., Consumer benefits from the EU Digital Single Market: evidence from household appliances markets,
JRC/IPTS Digital Economy Working Paper No 2014-03, 2014.
16 Francois, J. et al., The macro-economic impact of cross-border e-commerce in the EU, JRC/IPTS Digital Economy Working Paper No 2014-10, 2014.
17 European Commission, Consumer survey identifying the main cross-border obstacles to the DSM and where they matter most, September 2015.
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