MEPs Back EU's Big Tech Clampdown

European Parliament has given the EU executive strong backing to draw up new rules against big tech that could become the most draconian ever against the likes of Google, Amazon or Facebook

Brussels, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Oct, 2020 ) :European Parliament has given the EU executive strong backing to draw up new rules against big tech that could become the most draconian ever against the likes of Google, Amazon or Facebook.

MEPs meeting in Brussels on Tuesday weighed in on the "Digital Services Act", an upcoming EU legislation that aims to put sweeping limits on the tech giants and even see the firms forced to split up.

In a series of something called initiative reports, a huge majority of MEPs called on the EU to "future-proof" rules on tech firms that would go further and faster than competition law.

If adopted, the rules would again place Europe at the forefront of a global clampdown on big tech just as antitrust authorities in the US launched proceedings against Google, largely following the EU's playbook.

"The eternally long competition proceedings against Google and other platform operators show that they can hardly be dealt with using the normal instruments of competition law", said German MEP Markus Ferber.

Stricter rules "with bite" are needed, he added.

The bill is currently being drawn up by the European Commission and leaks have showed an ambition to come out strongly against the firms.

The heart of the proposals will be to update the e-commerce directive, the law that currently governs online business, but that dates back to 2000, when Google was at its infancy and Facebook did not exist.