Key Points
Only this time, the European Commissions $2 billion penalty against Apple marks the end of an old clunky era, and the start of a new one where trust-busters can be quicker and more efficient in policing Silicon Valleys biggest companies..
The fine is barely a scratch for Apple, which made $120 billion in first-quarter sales, but it symbolizes a new approach for Europes antitrust regulators, who already take more action against tech firms than their US counterparts..
Until now, the European Commission has had to spend years gathering evidence and proving the anticompetitive effects of tech firms behaviour in their cases..
Another might be to send a message that it will continue using traditional antitrust enforcement laws even though it has the DMAs rapid, cheap and blunt approach..
Call this a light entre to the new era of the DMA, which has the fairness issue baked into its rules, offering a more up-to-date and thoughtful approach to the economic pitfalls of digital dominance..
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