Vestager Calls Tech Firms Robot Vacuum Cleaners Sucking Up Data

Technology firms are “robot vacuum cleaners” sucking up valuable data in a way that can undermine competition, European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said in a speech Tuesday.

“Platforms like Google and Facebook, they collect data from consumers, not just the posts we like on Facebook or the searches we make on Google, but much more unexpected things, like the Onavo VPN app” which sent Facebook information on other apps and websites accessed by users, Vestager told a conference at the German foreign ministry in Berlin on Tuesday.

Margrethe Vestager on Aug. 27.

Photographer: Kay Nietfeld/DPA/Getty Images

Fresh from fining Google billions of euros, Vestager has been probing ...