OpenAI has formally expressed competition concerns to European Union antitrust regulators, arguing that dominant tech companies like Google, Apple, and Microsoft are making it harder for newer AI firms to compete on a level playing field.
During a September 24 meeting with EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera, OpenAI raised issues around the power of large platforms to lock in users and leverage their control over infrastructure, data, and services to entrench market dominance.
The EU has already launched investigations into certain practices in the AI sector, including reviewing whether existing agreements between big tech firms harm competition. OpenAI, which now has over 800 million weekly users of its ChatGPT service, has become one of the central voices in the debate over how AI should be regulated to balance innovation with fairness.
In its communications with EU officials, OpenAI highlighted how barriers such as restricted access to essential data, exclusive cloud-service contracts, and bundling of services by incumbents can limit the ability of smaller or newer AI developers to compete.
Experts agree the outcome of these discussions may have significant implications: the EU is pondering whether to take action to prevent practices that could stifle competition, potentially regulating exclusivity clauses or enacting rules to promote interoperability, open access to infrastructure, and fair data sharing.
About the Author
