Lawmakers vote to end the online ‘Wild West’
STRASBOURG, France: The European Parliament on Thursday approved a proposal to impose unprecedented restrictions on online content, including a ban on the most intrusive advertising methods, in a blow to Google and Facebook.
Lawmakers voted overwhelmingly in favor of their version of the Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to ensure tougher consequences for platforms and websites that violate a long list of content rules.
The DSA is a companion piece to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which specifically focuses on tech giants like Meta/Facebook, Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft. EU member states already approved their own versions of the two laws in November, and very delicate negotiations will now take place to reconcile the pieces of legislation.
“The biggest platforms can no longer hide behind a veil of ignorance,” said Danish MEP Christel Schaldemose, who led the law in parliament, after it passed. “They will be forced to face the consequences of their algorithms,” she said, calling the law a new “gold standard” for tech regulation.
Big tech companies that break the rules face fines of up to 6% of their global sales. “What’s happening on the internet, parents see it, is the Wild West,” said EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, who tabled the initial proposal in December 2020. “We don’t know what kids are doing anymore. .. harassment, hate speech, attacks on democracy, personal attacks, counterfeit products.”