Europe must act

Europe is missing out on important business opportunities that could boost European economic growth.

To change this and give European digital providers and startups more weight, the experts from the Internet Economy Foundation (IE.F) and Roland Berger subjected the topic to intensive analysis in their study "Fair play in the digital world - How Europe sets the right framework for platforms" and developed a ten-point plan with recommendations for action for policymakers.

"European companies now account for less than five percent of the global stock market value of digital platforms"

By contrast, platform operators from the Bay Area (Silicon Valley and surrounding area) alone account for over 50 percent of market capitalization, and Asian providers are also growing rapidly.

"Europe currently plays a role in the platform economy almost only as a sales market and development location for the US-dominated app stores and software forges"

says Pflüger.

"By contrast, far too little of the value added and the effect on the economy as a whole gets here."

This is also due to unequal conditions, such as a strong regulatory gap, under which digital startups operate globally. For example, American platforms currently occupy dominant competitive positions at the central control points.

The experts from IE.F and Roland Berger therefore call for an Internet economy that is open to new competitors, characterized by innovative strength, high value creation, fair competition, trustworthy handling of data and responsibly acting companies.

According to their analyses, an independent platform economy can sustainably support economic dynamics in Europe.

The maxim must apply: As much market as possible, as many rules as necessary.