Big Tech's 'nemesis' in EU gets new term -- and more power

LONDON – The European Union's competition chief is getting a new term -- with expanded powers -- in a move that underlines how the bloc's battle to regulate big tech companies is only just beginning. Margrethe Vestager, who angered the Trump administration by imposing multibillion-dollar penalties on the likes of Google and Apple, was reappointed Tuesday for a second five-year term as the bloc's competition commissioner. The Danish politician's tasks will include strengthening competition enforcement in all sectors, stepping up efforts to detect cases of market abuse by big companies, speeding up investigations and helping strengthen cooperation with her global counterparts. Perhaps ominously for the big tech companies that she has cracked down on, Vestager is also getting extra clout. Ursula von der Leyen, the incoming president of the EU's powerful executive arm, promoted Vestager to a commission executive vice-president overseeing the EU's digital innovation and leadership efforts, including artificial intelligence.