BRUSSELS (Reuters), Dec 13 – Alphabet, Meta Platforms Qualcomm, and seven other technology companies teamed up on Wednesday to push for an open digital ecosystem in response to the new EU tech regulations. This move could also be a way to ward off future legislation.
The group, which calls itself the Coalition for Open Digital Ecosystems(CODE), said that it wants to promote open platforms and systems in Europe to boost growth and innovations.
The group will work with academics and policymakers to achieve digital openness in Europe, “through the implementation and future EU regulatory framework development of the Digital Markets Act”.
The DMA obliges gatekeepers – tech giants who control access to their platform – to allow third parties interoperability with the gatekeeper services, and to allow their users to promote and close contracts with customers outside of the gatekeeper’s platform.
In the last few months, we have held a number conversations about what “good” looks like in terms of digital ecosystems, innovation and competitiveness. Stan Larroque, founder of Lynx, said that openness was the key element.
Other members include Chinese smart device maker Honor, China’s Lenovo, French augmented-reality start-up Lynx and U.S. Telecoms Equipment Maker Motorola. UK electronics manufacturer Nothing, Norwegian tech company Opera, and German messaging service provider Wire are also part of the group.