The European Parliament has just passed the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, with a significant majority.
This is the biggest update to the laws for digital platforms in the last 20 years and tightens the siege on big tech companies like Apple and Google.
Heavy fines for those who do not comply with new legislation
European Union has new legislation for digital platforms Cré[email protected]érigois/Unsplash
The European Parliament has just approved the Digital Services Law and the Digital Markets Law by a large majority, with the first passing with 539 votes in favour, 54 against and 30 abstentions, while the second passed with 588 votes in favour, 11 against and 31 abstentions.
The new legislation was proposed by the European Commission in December 2020 and now sees the light of day, after member states reached agreements in March and April to make the new legislation viable.
The new legislation aims to regulate the European digital world and prevent large platforms (such as Google and Apple) from resorting to unfair practices, holding them accountable for their actions and, at the same time, protecting users from exposure to illegal content. and/or harmful.
And for those who do not respect the new rules, there are already defined fines which, by the way, are heavy. All digital platforms that do not respect the legislation regarding digital services will suffer a penalty that can reach 6% of the company’s global turnover.
As for the new legislation for digital markets, the penalty is even greater and can reach up to 10% of the companies’ billing value.
European Union wants fair markets and ensure users’ rights
But specifically what does the new Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act consist of? Well, the first obliges digital platforms, such as social networks, to take effective measures to protect users from illegal content and/or goods.
In practice, European legislators want digital platforms to be more transparent in their operation, as well as take effective actions to prevent the spread of misinformation.
With regard to the Digital Markets Law, the legislation focuses on the unfair practices to which large digital platforms resort to act as “gatekeepers” in the digital market. In other words, the European Union wants the large digital platforms to allow all companies, small or large, to reach the user, who will thus have a greater and more varied offer to choose from. This last legislative package may have more expression, for example, in search engines.
In summary and as Margrethe Vestager, Executive Vice President explained “the Digital Services Act allows for the protection of users’ rights. The Digital Markets Act creates fair and open markets”.
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