EU-US Hold Fourth Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue

Today, Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division (DOJ) Assistant Attorney General Jonathan Kanter, and European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager met in Washington for the fourth meeting of the EU-US Joint Technology Competition Policy Dialogue (TCPD) to continue work on cooperation in ensuring and promoting fair competition in the digital economy.

“As businesses move at breakneck speed to build and monetize AI and algorithmic decision-making tools, engaging with our international partners and sharing best practices will be especially critical,” said FTC Chair Lina M. Khan. “The Joint Technology Dialogue provides U.S. agencies and the European Commission a key opportunity to discuss emerging threats in a rapidly evolving digital economy.”

“The growth of data monopolies and the rapid expansion of artificial intelligence expand the competitive threats we face from dominant digital gatekeepers,” said Jonathan Kanter, Assistant Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division. “Exchanging best practices with our global counterparts helps us to more effectively serve the American people, and we deeply appreciate the European Commission’s continued engagement through the TCPD.”

“With today’s meeting, we have further strengthened our cooperation in competition policy and enforcement in the technology area. The fast-moving technology sector raises global challenges such as regarding artificial intelligence and cloud computing more broadly. It is essential to anticipate and address such challenges through close cooperation, leveraging our respective experiences for the benefit of consumers and businesses on both sides of the Atlantic,” said Margrethe Vestager, European Commission Executive Vice-President in charge of competition policy.

The dialogue focused on rapidly evolving technologies in the digital sector, such as artificial intelligence and cloud, ensuring that merger enforcement accounts for the realities of the modern digital economy, and recent developments regarding enforcement involving technology platforms, among other topics.

The US and European Commission also discussed the evolving business strategies of big tech companies, including the recent investments and partnerships between major cloud providers and AI providers, as well as their implications for enforcement.

The three authorities have agreed on the importance of continuing their close collaboration in the framework of the TCPD to ensure fair competition in the technology sector. The TCPD will continue with high-level meetings, as well as regular discussions at a more technical level.