Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for a Europe fit for the Digital Age (Competition) Margrethe Vestager gives a press conference at

EU antitrust regulator cite concerns about voice assistants' exclusivity practices

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2021-06-09 12:00:15

Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for a Europe fit for the Digital Age (Competition) Margrethe Vestager gives a press conference at the European Commission in Brussels, Belgium June 3, 2021. Stephanie Lecocq/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

A year-long inquiry into voice assistants such as Alexa and Siri and other internet-connected devices has led to among more than 200 companies expressing concerns of potential anti-competitive practices, EU antitrust regulators said on Wednesday.

The European Commission has opened similar inquiries in the past into sectors such as e-commerce, pharmaceuticals, financial services and energy that eventually led to cases against companies and hefty fines.

Amazon's (AMZN.O) Alexa, Apple's (AAPL.O) Siri and Alphabet's (GOOGL.O) Google Assistant are among the most popular voice assistant devices.

"When we launched this sector inquiry, we were concerned that there might be a risk of gatekeepers emerging in this sector," European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said in a statement.