EU lawmakers pass landmark tech rules

On Tuesday, EU lawmakers approved significant legislation to rein in internet behemoths including Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unit Google, Amazon (AMZN.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Facebook, and Microsoft (MSFT.O), but implementation may be complicated by authorities’ limited resources.

Along with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) provisions, lawmakers also approved the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires Internet companies to do more to police the internet for illicit content.

Companies can incur fines of up to 10% of their annual global turnover for DMA infractions and 6% for DSA offences. Earlier this year, lawmakers and EU member states struck a political agreement on both rule books, leaving some specifics to be worked out.

The European Commission has formed a task force, with approximately 80 people slated to participate, which opponents believe is insufficient. It issued a 12-million-euro ($12.3-million) procurement last month for specialists to assist in investigations and compliance enforcement over a four-year timeframe.

Andreas Schwab, a European Parliament member who shepherded the matter through the chamber, has asked for a larger task force to challenge Big Tech’s enormous money and an assortment of lawyers. The DMA is intended to compel companies to make their messaging systems interoperable and allow corporate users with access to their data.

Business users would be able to promote rival products and services on a platform while also negotiating arrangements with customers outside of the platforms.

Companies will not be permitted to favour their services over competitors, nor will they be permitted to block customers from deleting pre-installed software or apps, two laws that would severely impact Google and Apple. The DSA prohibits targeted advertising to children or advertising based on sensitive facts such as religion, gender, race, or political beliefs. Dark patterns, or strategies that trick users into providing personal information to organizations online, would also be forbidden. While the legislation may be viewed as a victory by EU legislators and possibly consumers, enforcing the new laws will be tough. Repeat offenders will face fines of up to 20% of their global sales, according to the EU.

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