US tech giants such as Facebook and Google face unprecedented regulation in Europe, as the EU prepares to unveil landmark proposals that could change the face of life online.
The EU wants the Digital Services Act and its accompanying Digital Markets Act to set strict conditions for internet giants to do business in the bloc’s 27 countries.
The biggest tech firms will be designated internet “gatekeepers”, subject to specific regulation, in a proposal that will be unveiled by EU vice president Margrethe Vestager and commissioner Thierry Breton on Tuesday.
Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon and maybe a few others will almost certainly be slapped with the designation, which could be compared to big banks that are deemed “too big to fail” and subject to special oversight.
“We’ve come to a point where the power of digital businesses — especially the biggest gatekeepers — threaten our freedoms, our opportunities, even our democracy,” said Vestager.
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