Margrethe Vestager to Step Down as EU’s Competition Chief: A Decade of Big Tech Accountability
Margrethe Vestager, the European Union’s formidable competition commissioner, is set to step down later this year, marking the end of a decade-long tenure that has seen her become a key figure in the regulation of global tech giants.
Known for her rigorous enforcement of antitrust laws, Vestager’s departure signals a significant shift in the EU’s approach to corporate oversight, particularly in the digital sector.
Vestager’s rise to prominence began in 2014 when she was appointed as the European Commission’s commissioner for competition. Her reputation as a staunch regulator was solidified as she took on some of the world’s largest tech companies, including Apple, Google, Amazon, Meta, and Qualcomm, among others. Vestager’s actions were not limited to U.S. firms; she also challenged European companies like France’s Alstom and Germany’s Siemens AG, underscoring her commitment to fair competition across all sectors.
During her tenure, Vestager oversaw the implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at curbing the market power of tech giants. The DMA, which came into force in 2022, has already led to significant changes in how these companies operate within the EU. For instance, Apple has been compelled to allow third-party app stores to operate on its devices, while Google has had to modify how it displays price comparison results in its search engine.
Vestager’s leadership in these areas has drawn both praise and criticism. Max von Thun, director of Europe and transatlantic partnerships for the Open Markets Institute, acknowledged that while Vestager faced criticism for not doing enough to rein in tech monopolies, she was often the only politician globally willing to challenge these powerful entities. Her antitrust investigations into companies like Google, Apple, and Amazon were instrumental in raising awareness about the potential harms of tech monopolies, even if they did not always succeed in dismantling the companies’ dominance.
Lucas Lasota of the Free Software Foundation Europe (FSFE) also commended Vestager for her courage in confronting digital oligopolies and for advocating for fair competition. He emphasized the importance of continued vigilance in enforcing the DMA and other legislation that Vestager championed.
However, Vestager’s efforts were not without setbacks. Her decision in 2016 to order Apple to pay €14.3 billion ($15.72 billion) in back taxes to Ireland was overturned by the European General Court in 2020, a ruling that Apple CEO Tim Cook dismissed as “political crap.” The European Commission has appealed this decision, with a final judgment still pending.
Vestager’s departure comes in the wake of a poor performance by her Social Liberal party in Denmark’s 2022 election, leading the Danish government to nominate a different candidate for the European Commission. This decision marks the end of Vestager’s time as one of Europe’s most influential regulators, a role in which she earned the ire of some of the world’s most powerful companies.
As the European Commission prepares to appoint her successor, there is speculation about who will take on the role of competition commissioner. Potential candidates include Didier Reynders of Belgium, Wopke Hoekstra of the Netherlands, and Thierry Breton of France. Whoever steps into Vestager’s shoes will inherit a legacy of tough enforcement and ambitious regulation, along with the challenge of continuing to hold Big Tech accountable in an increasingly complex digital landscape.
The impact of Vestager’s departure will largely depend on her successor’s approach to antitrust enforcement. If the next competition commissioner builds on her work, Vestager’s tenure may be remembered as the beginning of a more robust European stance against corporate concentration. However, if her replacement adopts a more lenient approach, her efforts could be seen as a brief but ultimately unsuccessful attempt to curb the power of global tech giants.