EU lawmakers back rules to curb Big Tech
STRASBOURG – The European Parliament on Wednesday approved its proposal for major EU legislation to impose unprecedented restrictions on the way tech giants do business.
Lawmakers overwhelmingly voted in favor of their version of the Digital Markets Act, which aims to impose sweeping rules on behemoths like Meta / Facebook, Alphabet / Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft.
Landmark legislation should give the EU unprecedented powers to act swiftly against these tech ‘gatekeepers’ and impose a strict list of dos and don’ts on their most dominant platforms.
The final law, as well as the digital services law that frames online content, will be debated with EU member states in the coming months with the hope of concluding negotiations on a final law next year.
A key parliamentary committee approved its digital service bill on Tuesday and it is expected to be passed by all lawmakers in January.
Big tech companies and other interests are pushing hard to influence the end result of the laws, and member states will weigh to the end with their own national priorities.
Negotiations with MEPs will be chaired by France, which has made transposing the new rules into law a top priority during its six-month EU presidency which begins on January 1.
In detail, Parliament’s version reinforced the proposals put forward by the EU executive and accepted by the Member States, in particular by encouraging interoperability between different messaging services.
It also seeks to strengthen the powers of national competition authorities, key member states Germany and France, keen not to leave all powers to the European Commission in Brussels.
The European Consumers Organization said the proposal “would give consumers a greater share of the benefits of digital services” and called on member states to stick to changes made by lawmakers.
“For example, Parliament’s amendments would give consumers more choice over the social media and instant messaging services they use and prevent tech giants from using ‘dark models’ to distort consumer choices.” , he said in a statement.
“It is crucial that the EU sets the standard for the rest of the world in ensuring that the digital economy works for the benefit of consumers rather than the exclusive benefit of tech giants,” he said.