The European Parliament has taken the first formal step towards a law that will restrict the conduct of large internet companies like Google and Facebook within EU countries.
By defining their internet activities as a ‘market,’ these companies will soon fall under EU Competition rules, thus establishing business regulations for them as well.
The establishment of a Digital Markets Act (DMA) law aims to curb the abuse of power by large tech companies with a ‘gatekeeper function.’ Gatekeepers are online companies such as Apple, Google, or Amazon that are so large they act as the sole ‘gateway’ to a large group of users.
The European Commission presented the DMA proposal a year ago, which has now been set in motion in Strasbourg and is expected to be adopted in plenary in December. On Thursday, the national Ministers of Economic Affairs will also vote on amendments to the DMA.
It is expected that negotiations can be concluded in the coming six months under the French EU presidency. The law could then come into effect in 2023. French President Macron, who is seeking re-election soon, has always been a strong supporter of European legislation against the unchecked power of internet companies. He was also an advocate for the introduction of internet profit taxation.
Dutch Member of the European Parliament Paul Tang (PvdA) was one of the negotiators of this new EU law. The new rules will create eighteen obligations to prevent monopolization and prohibit abuse of power.
Internet companies that do not comply with these obligations may face fines ranging from 4 to 10% of their annual turnover and may even be broken up. According to Tang, Facebook has never been as nervous about legislation as it is now.
GreenLeft MEP Kim van Sparrentak responded by saying, “Our society is becoming too dependent on a small group of large platforms. We need to ensure that we have choices online again. The rules we are now proposing for Big Tech are moving in the right direction.”