EU and Britain to toughen rules, fines for US tech giants

Big tech companies face hefty fines in the European Union and Britain if they treat rivals unfairly or fail to protect users on their platforms, in proposed regulations unveiled Tuesday by officials in Brussels and London.

The EU outlined the long-awaited, sweeping overhaul of its digital rule book while the British government released its own plans to step up policing of harmful material online, signalling the next phase of technology regulation in Europe.

Both sets of proposals include specific measures aimed at the biggest tech companies. The EU wants to set new rules for “digital gatekeepers” to prevent them from acting unfairly. It aims to prevent bad behaviour rather than just punish past actions, as it has largely done so far.

Big tech companies won’t be allowed, for example, to stop users from uninstalling pre-installed software or apps, nor will they be able to use data from business users to compete against them.

The rules, known as the Digital Markets Act, allow for fines of up to 10 per cent of annual global revenue and, controversially, set out three criteria for defining a gatekeeper: companies that, for the past three years, have had annual European turnover of at least €6.5 billion (US$8 billion); or a market value of €65 billion and at least 45 million monthly users; or 10,000 yearly business users.

Another part of the EU plan, the Digital Services Act, updates the bloc’s 20-year-old rules on e-commerce by making platforms take more responsibility for their goods and services. That will involve identifying sellers so that rogue traders can be tracked down, being more transparent with users on how algorithms make recommendations, or swiftly taking down illegal content such as hate speech, though in a bid to balance free speech requirements, users will be given the chance to complain. Violations risk fines of up to 6 per cent of annual turnover.