A leaked version of a forthcoming communication from the European Commission on the subject of "online platforms" concludes that "overall, at this stage, there is no compelling case for general ex-ante [that is, anticipatory] regulation of online platforms across the board." However, the 16-page document obtained by EurActiv.com does not rule out future regulation in the light of developments. It also outlines a number of other ways the Commission hopes to rein in online services from US giants like Google and Facebook in order to encourage the development of EU alternatives.

According to the leaked document, online platforms are "undertakings that are capable of facilitating direct interactions between users via online systems, and that capitalise on data-driven efficiencies enabled by network effects."

Just to clarify that rather abstract definition, here's the non-exhaustive list of examples the European Commission gives: "Google's AdSense, DoubleClick, Ebay and Amazon Marketplace, Google and Bing Search, Facebook and YouTube, Android and Apple Store, Facebook Messenger, PayPal, TOMTOM and BlaBlaCar." Content distribution companies like Netflix are explicitly excluded, as are industrial platforms.

That list makes clear the big problem here: "at present the EU represents only 4 percent of the total market capitalisation of the largest online platforms, with the vast majority of platform enterprises originating in the US and Asia." The Commission believes that there are still many areas where there are no market leaders yet, and so aims "to foster the development of competitive European online platform ecosystems in key strategic sectors such as health, automated vehicles and smart cities as an innovation funding priority."

It suggests this effort should be led by a new European Innovation Council, which will have as one of its specific aims "supporting the scaling-up of disruptive innovators in Europe."

Aside from throwing money at EU companies, the main plank of the Commission's proposed online platforms policy consists of ensuring that there is a "level playing field" for all participants in a market. "As a general regulatory principle, the same activities must be subject to the same rules in the Digital Single Market." The document goes on to give a specific example of "over-the-top" online communications services: "Such services are increasingly competing with traditional telecommunication services," and yet, the Commission says, "these online communication services are not subject to the same rules."

The telecoms companies have been complaining about this state of affairs for a while, and it looks like the European Commission intends to act: "As part of its review of EU telecoms rules, the Commission will announce in 2016 a targeted mix of deregulation and current telecoms-specific rules and the applicability of a more focused set of communications-specific rules to all relevant and comparable services provided by over-the-top players where it is necessary."

The other area where lobbyists have long been asking for what they consider a "level playing field" concerns copyright, and the Commission seems to be listening:

New forms of online content distribution have emerged which may involve several actors and where, for instance, content is distributed through platforms which make available copyright-protected content uploaded by end-users. While these services are attracting a growing audience and gain economic benefits from the content distribution, there is a growing concern as to whether the value generated by some of these new forms of online content distribution is shared in a fair manner between distributors and the rights holders. In their replies to the public consultation [on online platforms], right holders across several content sectors reported that their content is increasingly used without authorisation or through licencing agreements which, in their view, contain unfair terms.

The reference there is to services like YouTube, where media companies think they should be getting paid more, as well as to attempts to bring in some kind of snippet tax for the benefit of traditional publishers who believe that every use of their text, no matter how small, should be paid for.

The leaked document also announces moves by the Commission to put more pressure on companies like Google and Facebook to police alleged copyright infringement: "To ensure that online platforms are provided the right incentives, the Commission will furthermore issue guidance on the liability of online platforms when putting in place voluntary, good faith measures to fight illegal content online."

The other main approach that the European Commission hopes will lead to the blooming of a thousand EU online platforms is "keeping markets open, fair and non-discriminatory." For example, the leak explains how the EU will make it easy for users to switch between online platforms, taking their personal data with them.

The last proposal is for measures that "ensure that future development of digital technologies remains open," for example by "giving preference to the procurement of open service platforms by public authorities." Although that's a great idea in theory, other recent moves by the European Commission in the field of open standards suggests the reality may be disappointing.

This is only a leak of a draft version of the European Commission's policy on online platforms, but the provisional date used on the document—May 25—suggests that this is a near-final version, and therefore unlikely to change much. One striking feature worth noting is the use throughout of data from EU consultations in support of planned moves. This emphasises the importance of participating in these consultations, however pointless they might seem at times: albeit indirectly, they do have an impact on the Commission's policy-making.