World’s broadcasters urge EU to tighten rules for big tech in smart TV battle
The world’s largest broadcasters have pushed for the EU to enforce its toughest regulations against virtual TVs and smart assistants built by Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung.The call came in a letter from the Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT), whose members include Canal+, RTL, Mediaset, ITV, Paramount+, NBCUniversal, Walt Disney, Warner Bros Discovery, Sky and TF1 Groupe.The letter argues that big tech companies have growing control over the operating systems of smart TVs and voice assistants, allowing them to act as “gatekeepers” funnelling users towards some content and away from others.Services such as Amazon’s Fire TV and Google TV have recommendation systems, as well as search functions, that may prioritise some content over others.These systems, built into many smart TVs, stand to shape how millions of users consume television.
“A limited number of operators are therefore gaining growing ability to shape outcomes for millions of users and businesses by controlling access to audiences and content distribution,” ACT wrote in a letter to the EU’s antitrust chief, Teresa Ribera, reported by Reuters.“It is crucial that the commission designate major TV operating systems as gatekeepers and ensure adequate oversight to guarantee fairness and contestability,” the broadcasters said.Google, Amazon, Apple and Samsung have been approached for comment.ACT’s letter comes amid heightened tension between European authorities and Donald Trump’s administration over the regulation of US tech companies, which has led to a series of tussles over how these firms operate in Europe.Brussels is reportedly preparing to intensify enforcement of its key anti-competition rules, and the Trump administration has said this is “discriminatory” against US companies.
In early February, the EU threatened action against Meta for blocking rival AI chatbots from using its WhatsApp business platform, saying it was abusing its dominant market position.Meta said there was no reason for the EU to intervene and that it was not a key distribution channel for AI chatbots.Ribera said on Monday that a decision was soon to come on whether Google’s search engine is breaking the EU’s Digital Markets Act, an investigation that has been ongoing since 2024.In December the US imposed sanctions on the former European commissioner Thierry Breton as well as four other European “activists”, accusing them of censorship and “suppress[ing] American viewpoints”.The move was widely seen as an escalation in response to European regulation of US tech platforms.
Breton is challenging the sanctions and the commission has announced it will back him,
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Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, who oversaw gold medal success in Torun for Keely Hodgkinson and Georgia Hunter Bell, believe the best is yet to come for the pairIt was the architect of London 2012 Olympics who said it best, shortly after Britain’s Keely Hodgkinson, Georgia Hunter Bell and Molly Caudery had lit up the World Indoor Championships with three gold medals in 29 minutes.“That was a towering moment, not just for UK Athletics but for British sport,” said Sebastian Coe, now the president of World Athletics. “It was very exciting, hugely inspirational. I really do hope they cause a stampede to local athletics clubs, particularly among young girls.”Soon afterwards, Trevor Painter and Jenny Meadows, the husband and wife coaching team who have guided Hodgkinson and Hunter Bell to glory, were explaining the secrets behind their success – ranging from cycling to crystals to cutting-edge science – before predicting the best was yet to come
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World’s broadcasters urge EU to tighten rules for big tech in smart TV battle
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