Britain seeks G7 consensus on big tech company dominance
Britain is seeking to build a consensus among G7 nations on how to stop large technology companies exploiting their dominance.
Following Facebook’s row with Australia, Britain is seeking a consensus among the G7 nations that will “bridge the gap between what [tech companies] say they do and what happens in practice,” digital minister Oliver Dowden said today.
Facebook’s row with the Australian government over payment for local news, although now resolved, has increased international focus on the power wielded by tech corporations.
The social media giant last week blocked access to news in the country in protest at upcoming legislation, which forces tech firms to pay publishers for news. Australia has since passed the law.
“We will prevent these firms from exploiting their dominance to the detriment of people and the businesses that rely on them,” Dowden added.
The minister said recent events had strengthened his view that digital markets did not currently function properly.
He spoke after a meeting with Facebook’s vice-president for global affairs, Nick Clegg, who was Deputy Prime Minister under David Cameron for four years.
“I put these concerns to Facebook and set out our interest in levelling the playing field to enable proper commercial relationships to be formed. We must avoid such nuclear options being taken again,” Dowden said in a statement.
Facebook said in a statement that the call had been constructive, and that it had already struck commercial deals with most major publishers in Britain.
“Nick strongly agreed with the Secretary of State’s (Dowden’s) assertion that the government’s general preference is for companies to enter freely into proper commercial relationships with each other,” a Facebook spokesman said.