BRUSSELS – Today, Gene Burrus, Global Policy Counsel for the Coalition for App Fairness (CAF), issued the following statement regarding the appointment of Teresa Ribera as the candidate for the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President of a Clean, Just and Competitive Transition, responsible for competition policy, and the appointment of Henna Virkkunen as candidate for Executive Vice-President for Tech-Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.
“As the candidates prepare to take on their new roles, it’s critical they prioritize enforcing the Digital Markets Act to bring competition and choice to the mobile app ecosystem. Apple’s and Google’s refusal to comply demonstrate they believe they are above the law. Their sham compliance plans continue to circumvent the law, thwart European innovation, extract monopoly rents from developers, and harm consumers across continents.
“The candidates need to finish the job that outgoing Executive Vice-President Vestager started, and deliver on the promise of the Digital Markets Act for all European consumers and business users to create meaningful, positive change.
“The Coalition is committed to working with the new Commissioners to ensure that the momentum to rein in the mobile gatekeepers does not falter.”
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The Coalition for App Fairness is an independent nonprofit organization formed to protect consumer choice, foster competition, and create a level playing field for all app and game developers globally. Originally formed by Basecamp, Blix, Blockchain.com, Deezer, Epic Games, the European Publishers Council, Match Group, News Media Europe, Prepear, Proton, Skydemon, Spotify, and Life360, CAF has rapidly grown from 13 to more than 80 members since launching in September 2020. CAF offers membership to companies of any size — join today at appfairness.org.