BRUSSELS: Draft EU rules to be unveiled Tuesday would see tech giants face huge fines or banned from the market for breaches, sources said, posing a major challenge to the likes of Google and Facebook. The EU Commission is gearing up to present its long-trailed Digital Services Act and its accompanying Digital Markets Act to lay out strict conditions for internet giants to do business in the 27 countries.
EU sources told AFP on Monday the landmark legislation would see tech behemoths facing fines of up to 10 percent of their revenues for breaking some of the most serious competition rules.
It could also see some of the world's biggest firms banned from the EU market "in the event of serious and repeated breaches of law which endanger the security of European citizens", the sources said. The proposals - which could revolutionise how Big Tech does business - aim to tackle hate speech and disinformation online and curb the might of leading firms to dominate markets. The largest companies would be designated as internet "gatekeepers" under the legislation, subject to specific regulations to limit their power over the market.
Some ten firms - including Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft - will be slapped with the designation. The draft laws will go through a long and complex ratification process, with the EU's member states, the European Parliament, and company lobbyists and trade associations influencing the final law.
The details of the proposals have until now been carefully guarded by the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, even though a few details have leaked.
The main intention of the new rules is to update legislation that dates back to 2004, when many of today's internet giants either did not exist or were in their infancy. The Digital Services Act is being touted as a way to give the commission sharper teeth in pursuing social media platforms when they allow illegal content online.
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