US tech giants could face heavy fines as EU sets new rules for business practices

The European Commission on Tuesday (local time) released legislation giving regulators powers to force the US tech giants such as Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) to "change their business practices".

The European Commission on Tuesday (local time) released legislation giving regulators powers to force the US tech giants such as Amazon (AMZN), Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) to "change their business practices". According to a report by CNN, very large social media companies and e-commerce sites face new obligations to removing illegal and harmful content from their platforms under the draft EU legislation called the Digital Services Act.

The second proposal -- Digital Markets Act -- will demand the "gatekeepers" to a list of dos and don'ts to prevent unfair competition. CCN quoted Margrethe Vestager, the EU commissioner leading the charge on tech issues, as saying, "The two proposals serve one purpose: to make sure that we, as users, have access to a wide choice of safe products and services online. And that businesses operating in Europe can freely and fairly compete online just as they do offline."

It further reported that as per the legislation the companies not following the proposed EU content policies could be fined up to 6 per cent of global revenues, and repeat offenders could see their platforms temporarily banned. "We look forward to working with EU policymakers to help ensure that the proposals meet the stated goals so that Europeans continue to reap all the benefits of digital products and services," the Computer and Communications Industry Association, a trade group that represents Amazon, Facebook, Twitter and Google, said in a statement.

"We hope the future negotiations will seek to make the EU a leader in digital innovation, not just in digital regulation," the Association said. According to CNN, the United Kingdom, which left the European Union earlier this year, is also getting in on the act. (ANI)

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