European Union antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said on Monday that EU countries may reach an agreement with the EU legislature next month that requires Tech giants are taking more steps to regulate content on their platforms.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager
Vestager introduced the Digital Services Act (DSA) more than a year ago, which would force tech giants to do more to deal with illegal content or face fines of up to 6% of global turnover.
EU countries and EU legislatures are currently discussing the details of the bill, with the two sides arguing over the definition of online marketplace platforms that should be subject to the bill and the criteria for banning targeted advertising.
Vestager said in an interview: “There is now a very strong incentive (on both sides of the negotiation) to get this done. Under the French presidency, we may have the digital services bill finalized by the end of April. If we With hard work and a little luck, it’s possible.”
Another landmark proposal by Vestager – the Digital Markets Act (DMA) – was approved by EU countries and EU legislatures last week, targeting Google, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft.
The Digital Markets Act lays out a list of what the big tech giants should and shouldn’t do and requires the companies to be compliant within six months. But the tech giants say the compliance deadlines given by the EU are too short for such complex legislation.
Vestager said the EU would not extend the compliance period because the companies knew what they were doing was anticompetitive.
She said: “In fact, I think the companies should be very happy that they have six months because this is one of the most contentious issues during the negotiations. Because of the ban (for the tech giants) and the fact that (the companies should abide by) obligations are derived from established case law, I don’t think any of them would be surprising.”
Asked whether the Digital Markets Act would cover non-U.S. tech giants, Vestager said: “It’s quite possible, but I’m not sure right now.” Some observers say Booking.com and Alibaba (NYSE: BABA, 9988. HK) may be subject to the new rules.