“Eat or die”: Bundeskartellamt criticizes Whatsapp ultimatum
Authority manager Andreas Mundt. (Photo: Bundeskartellamt)
No time right now?
Does Facebook have to prepare for a more critical view on the part of the Federal Cartel Office? Its boss, Andreas Mundt, clearly criticizes various measures taken by the social media giant.
The head of the cartel office, Andreas Mundt, advises German politicians to crack down on the big Internet companies, especially Facebook. The blue giant is making headlines in various areas.
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Unilateral coercive measures unacceptable
On the one hand, Facebook subsidiary Whatsapp wants to force its users to accept new terms of use. If you do not do this by May 15, 2021, Whatsapp will first restrict the affected accounts and then delete them.
The Daily mirror said Mundt: “Customers are not given a choice. Either they accept or they are shut down. Eat or die”. That is not okay. No company should have the power to set its own rules, the cartel chief said.
The behavior of Facebook in Australia angered the head of the competition authority. Here, the social media giant temporarily shut down news sites in the dispute over the new Australian media law. With this, Facebook is expressing its protest about having to pay for publishing content. Mundt does not want to accept such an approach. The press deserves protection, it is “a pillar of democracy.”
The initiation of proceedings is being examined
Mundt left it open whether the Federal Cartel Office will take action against Facebook and its daughters. However, he pointed out that the reformed competition law now opens up more opportunities for his authority. He will now have a very specific examination of which procedures can be initiated.
In Germany, too, the so-called ancillary copyright law, which is supposed to regulate questions about the payment of journalistic content by the internet giants, is not entirely undisputed.
