Final report – sector inquiry into consumer Internet of Things

Summary:

Report published by the European Commission on 20 January 2022, unveiling the findings of its competition sector inquiry into the consumer Internet of Things (IoT).

Further information:

This report identifies potential competition concerns in the rapidly growing markets for IoT related products and services in the European Union (EU). The main findings of the sector inquiry on the Consumer IoT cover the following points:

• the characteristics of consumer IoT products and services;
• the features of competition in these markets;
• the main areas of potential concern raised by stakeholders in relation to the current functioning of consumer IoT markets, as well as to their future outlook.

The consumer IoT sector inquiry was launched in July 2020 in the framework of the European Commission's Communication setting out a vision for the EU's digital future. The findings took account of comments received during a public consultation on the preliminary report published in June 2021 and confirmed the conclusions published already then. Comments included input from stakeholders such as leading consumer IoT players, smart device manufacturers, creative content service providers, associations, or telecommunication operators.

Official

EUR-LEX: SWD(2022)10: Staff Working Document accompanying the Report https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/ALL/?uri=SWD:2022:10:FIN

European Commission: Competition Policy: Sector inquiry into the Consumer Internet of Things https://ec.europa.eu/competition-policy/antitrust/sector-inquiries/consumer-internet-things_en

European Commission: Press Release, 16/07/2020: Antitrust: Commission launches sector inquiry into the consumer Internet of Things (IoT) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_20_1326

European Commission: Press Release, 09/06/2021: Antitrust: Commission publishes initial findings of consumer Internet of Things sector inquiry https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_21_2884

European Commission: Questions & Answers - Antitrust: Commission publishes preliminary report on consumer Internet of Things sector inquiry (9 June 2021) https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/QANDA_21_2908

European Commission: Press Release, 20/01/2022: Antitrust: Commission publishes final report on consumer Internet of Things sector inquiry https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_22_402

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News

EurActiv, 20/01/2022: Voice assistants under fire in IoT competition report https://www.euractiv.com/section/digital/news/voice-assistants-under-fire-in-iot-competition-report/

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Commentary and Analysis

CMS Law-Now: eAlerts, 11/06/2021: European Commission’s IoT Sector Inquiry: Preliminary Report published, identifies a range of potential competition concerns https://www.cms-lawnow.com/ealerts/2021/06/european-commissions-iot-sector-inquiry-preliminary-report-published-identifies-a-range?cc_lang=en

White&Case: Alerts, 15/06/2021: European Commission consumer IoT sector inquiry: Preliminary Report https://www.whitecase.com/publications/alert/european-commission-consumer-iot-sector-inquiry-preliminary-report

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