BRUSSELS – Today, ITI, an international tech trade association, released the following statement ahead of the European Union’s conference, “Shaping competition policy in the era of digitization.”

“We appreciate the European Commission efforts to bring together government officials, industry, and academics to have an important conversation on the future of competition policy,” said Guido Lobrano, vice president of global policy. “The technology driving the economic growth in Europe and around the world is nascent, which raises new questions, thoughts, and ideas on how to best reap the benefits of these innovations while minimising concerns. The outcome of this debate will have significant consequences on the development of new technologies, use of data and on artificial intelligence in particular. The same debate is taking place in other economies – and as the Commission moves forward, we trust it will take a global approach to these tough policy questions and strive for alignment of objectives. Europe should in particular focus on consumer welfare, not on protecting competitors. We stand ready to work with them to solve these questions.”

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