New obligations and prohibitions imposed on digital giants to limit their abuse of power: the European Parliament on Tuesday approved by an overwhelming majority the large EU regulation to bring order to the "
Wild West
" of the Internet.
The new legislation was already the subject of an agreement in the spring between the co-legislators and will still have to obtain the final approval of the Member States in the coming weeks.
A pioneer on a global scale, Europe could inspire other countries, including the United States.
Read alsoEurope adopts historic regulation of Gafam
Digital regulation consists of two texts presented by the Commission in December 2020 and negotiated for a little over a year.
On the one hand, a regulation of digital markets (DMA) which must stem the anti-competitive practices of Gafam – Google, Apple, Meta (Facebook), Amazon and Microsoft.
On the other hand, a regulation of digital services (DSA) whose objective is to regulate online content by forcing the major platforms to respect the laws and to cooperate with the regulators.
The first was approved by 588 votes (11 against, 31 abstentions) and the second by 539 votes (54 against, 30 abstentions) during a vote by MEPs in plenary session in Strasbourg.
"
New Sheriff in Town
"
“
Digital has developed a bit like in a western, there were no real rules of the game, but now there is a new sheriff in town
”, declared Monday evening the rapporteur of the DSA, the MEP Danish Christel Schaldemose (S&D, Social Democrats).
The DMA marks a change in philosophy in the fight against the abuse of large platforms.
After years of chasing in vain after the offenses of these multinationals in endless legal proceedings, Brussels wants to act upstream, by imposing twenty rules on them to respect under penalty of dissuasive fines.
Objective: to act quickly and effectively, before abusive behavior has destroyed competition.
“
It will no longer be the European Commission but the companies themselves who will have to prove that they allow free competition
”, underlined the German MEP Andreas Schwab (EPP, right), rapporteur for the DMA.
The legislation establishes Commission control over all takeovers of these giants, regardless of the size of the target, to limit the capture of start-up innovation and acquisitions aimed at destroying a competitor .
Google will in particular be prohibited from showing any favoritism towards its own services in the results of its search engine, as it has been accused of doing with its online sales site Google Shopping.
The new law will also prevent Amazon from using data generated on its sites by corporate customers to better compete with them.
Independent audits
The second part, the DSA, aims to put an end to the excesses of social networks that have often hit the headlines.
The text also concerns sales platforms overrun with counterfeit or defective products, which can be dangerous, such as children's toys that do not meet safety standards.
Read alsoEurope adopts unprecedented regulation for a safer internet
The new regulation will require the rapid removal of any illegal content (according to national and European laws) as soon as a platform becomes aware of it.
It will force social networks to suspend users who "
frequently
" violate the law.
The DSA will oblige online sales sites to verify the identity of their suppliers before offering their products.
It requires "
very large platforms
", those with "
more than 45 million active users
" in the EU, to assess themselves the risks associated with the use of their services and to put in place the appropriate means. to remove problematic content.
They will be imposed increased transparency on their data and recommendation algorithms.
They will be audited once a year by independent organizations and placed under the supervision of the European Commission.
