EU targets 6 tech giants in new crackdown on online content.
The European Union has taken a strong stance on digital regulations, targeting six global tech giants in its latest enforcement efforts.
Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google parent company Alphabet, Facebook parent company Meta, and TikTok parent company ByteDance have all been classified as online “gatekeepers” under the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), which aims to improve user choice and promote fair competition.
EU Internet Law Being Rolled Out
The new law, which took effect on Aug. 25, will force major online platforms to take down any content that bureaucrats in Brussels deem to be “disinformation” or “hate speech.”
The implementation of the new rules will be phased in gradually, allowing tech firms to comply with strict requirements regarding user privacy, transparency, and content.
These big tech giants operating in the EU will be required to ban certain user-targeting practices and prevent the spread of “harmful” content.
Europe Cracks Down on Free Speech
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has emphasized that the goal of the law is to “ensure that the online environment remains a safe space.”
According to European Commissioner Thierry Breton, the new law will bring numerous benefits to consumers.
“DMA means more choice for consumers,” he said. “Fewer obstacles for smaller competitors. Opening the gates to the Internet.”
The European Commission has identified companies as gatekeepers if they provide core platform services, such as Google’s Chrome search browser and Apple’s App Store, acting as a bridge between businesses and consumers.
In addition to protecting European consumers from “disinformation” and “hate speech,” the law also requires tech firms to be more transparent about their algorithms and how they target users with ads.
Consumers will now have access to platforms’ recommendation algorithms for ads and the right to opt out. Reporting illegal content under the DMA will also be made easier.
Stricter safeguards for minors, including system redesigns, privacy measures, and mental health-risk assessments, will be implemented. Furthermore, ads targeting children are now banned.
The big tech firms must also address content risks, enforce terms, expedite user reports to Brussels, and publish annual risk assessments while promptly removing offending content.
All companies listed as gatekeepers have a timeline of six months to comply with the DMA’s requirements. These requirements will eventually be expanded to apply to all digital services starting in February 2024.
The commissioner has made it clear that compliance with the Digital Services Act (DSA) is crucial.
“My services and I will thoroughly enforce the DSA and fully use our new powers to investigate and sanction platforms where warranted,” Mr. Breton said.
Offenders found to be in breach of the DSA could face a massive fine of up to 6 percent of their global turnover, and repeated violations could result in a ban from doing business in the EU.
The first round of DSA rules is being applied to 19 major digital platforms, including social media apps, websites, and online retailers, with at least 45 million active users in the bloc.
These platforms include Alibaba AliExpress, Amazon Store, Apple AppStore, Bing, Booking.com, Facebook, Instagram, Google Maps, Google Play, Google Search, Google Shopping, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, X, Wikipedia, YouTube, and Zalando.
Mr. Breton has emphasized the importance of setting their own rules for Europe.
“These systemic platforms play a very, very important role in our daily life, and it is really the time now for Europe, for us, to set our own rules,” Mr. Breton wrote.
However, his repeated threats were met with criticism and mockery on social media.
Many critics view these regulations as a means for progressive bureaucrats in Brussels to censor dissenting voices online worldwide.
“So let’s be clear. According to you ANYTHING coming out of the authoritarian governments of the West is to be censored, banned. You are a criminal. And people like you are anti-human, anti-civilization, anti-life itself,” one Bulgarian commentator said.
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