Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
The European Union’s antitrust watchdog is investigating whether Apple, Google, Amazon, or other companies are building monopolies with their digital assistants and smart home products. EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager announced a probe into the Internet of Things sector, aimed at making sure users aren’t locked into a single ecosystem. “When big companies abuse their power, they can very quickly push markets beyond the tipping point, where competition turns to monopoly,” said Vestager in a statement.
Vestager raised concerns about products like Amazon’s Alexa assistant, which ties together the company’s vast retail, hardware, and data collection operations. “Voice assistants…