Stricter rules for tech giants
EU tightens supervision of Google, Amazon & Co.
7/5/2022 1:14 p.m
With two laws, the EU Parliament is making big internet companies – from Amazon, Google, WhatsApp to Apple – responsible: On the one hand, they have to take more action against hate speech online and, on the other hand, they have to open themselves up to competitors.
Tech giants like Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple are subject to stricter rules in the EU. The European Parliament has passed two laws with a large majority that are intended to ensure stricter supervision of online platforms and more consumer protection. On the one hand, the Digital Services Act (DSA) is about putting a better stop to social problems such as hate speech or other illegal content on the Internet.
On the other hand, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) is intended to limit the market power of Internet giants and ensure fairer competition. Consumers are also given more freedom of choice when it comes to online offers. Negotiators from parliament and EU states had previously agreed on the laws, and now parliament has formally confirmed them. The permanent representatives of the EU countries in Brussels have also approved the laws, now they only have to be approved at ministerial level. This is considered a formality.
The DSA ascribes more responsibility to platforms and is intended to ensure that certain content disappears from the Internet more quickly. Examples are terror propaganda, hate speech or the sale of counterfeit goods. The law is part of a digital pact that also includes the DMA. It prohibits big tech companies from merging data from different sources without explicit user consent.
Cross-party praise for laws
Large messenger services such as WhatsApp and iMessage will also have to open up to receiving messages from other applications in the future. The project was praised across party lines: Green MEP Rasmus Andresen called the DMA “one of the most important laws passed in the current legislative period”.
“The DSA and DMA are a milestone in cleaning up the Internet and fighting digital monopolies,” said Left MP Martin Schirdewan. His FDP colleague Svenja Hahn emphasized that there had also been successes for civil rights. Social Democrats and Christian Democrats also praised the laws.