Brussels, Belgium - Yesterday, the U.S.- based News Media Alliance issued a White paper accusing Google of being the dominant player in the news collection market.

“While this won’t be news to consumers, this fact should make us think about how to improve and reform the Digital Single Market in Europe. Our hope would be to liberalize it and allow consumers to choose between very different services,” said Luca Bertoletti, Senior European Affairs Manager of the Consumer Choice Center.

“In Europe, there are so many outdated laws that make it burdensome to create new and innovative digital services before they ever hit the market. One example is the lack of a European-wide license for audiovisual services, forcing service providers to apply in every Member State they want to show their content. It is the same for most other digital services in the EU, including music streaming or news collection.

“While we continue to see the spread of misleading and even fake news, especially from illiberal countries such as China and Russia, quality news and journalism must remain competitive while still available to the majority of the population,” said Bertoletti.

“The Consumer Choice Center calls on the European Commission and the Member States to begin reviewing the outdated laws to boost innovation and create a real market as soon as possible. That will allow consumers to have more choice and authors and copyright owners to be justly compensated.

“If the EU succumbs once more to antitrust legislation, it will come at the expense of future innovation and risk cutting off millions of Europeans from vital digital services. We need reform and liberalization in order to better provide for both consumers and producers,” concluded Bertoletti.

***CCC European Affairs Manager Luca Bertoletti is available to speak with accredited media on consumer regulations and consumer choice issues. Please send media inquiries HERE***

---

The CCC represents consumers in over 100 countries across the globe. We closely monitor regulatory trends in Ottawa, Washington, Brussels, Geneva and other hotspots of regulation and inform and activate consumers to fight for #ConsumerChoice. Learn more at www.consumerchoicecenter.org