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If 2024 already looks like an annus horribilis for big tech in the EU, the months ahead could prove a winter of discontent as the bloc wields a fortified new legal armoury to bring online titans to heel.<\/p>\n
Since August 2023, the world\u2019s biggest digital platforms have faced the toughest ever tech regulations in the European Union \u2014 which shows no sign of slowing down in enforcing them.<\/p>\n
Brussels scored its first major victory after forcing TikTok to permanently remove an \u201caddictive\u201d feature from a spinoff app in Europe in August, a year after content moderation rules under the bloc\u2019s Digital Services Act (DSA) started to apply.<\/p>\n
That followed a seven-day period earlier in the summer in which Brussels issued back-to-back decisions targeting Apple, Meta and Microsoft.<\/p>\n
And more is to come before 2024 is over, say officials.<\/p>\n
The EU\u2019s moves are all thanks to two laws, the DSA \u2014 which forces companies to police online content \u2014 and its sister competition law, the Digital Markets Act (DMA) \u2014 which gives big tech a list of what they can and can\u2019t do in business.<\/p>\n
Since the DMA curbs kicked in in March, the EU has notably pressured Apple to back down in a spat with Fortnite maker Epic over a gaming app store.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe European Commission is doing the job: it is implementing the DMA with limited resources and within a short timeframe compared to lengthy competition cases,\u201d said EU lawmaker Stephanie Yon-Courtin, who focuses on digital issues.<\/p>\n
Jan Penfrat, senior policy advisor at online rights group EDRi, says changes are already visible: the DSA giving users the \u201cright to complain\u201d when content is removed or accounts are suspended, or the DMA allowing them to select browsers and search engines via choice screens.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is just the beginning,\u201d Penfrat said.<\/p>\n
He notes for instance that EDRi and other groups in July compiled a list of areas where Apple fails to follow the DMA. \u201cWe expect the commission to go after those as well in time,\u201d Penfrat told AFP.<\/p>\n
Apple is the biggest thorn in the EU\u2019s side as the DMA\u2019s chief critic, claiming it puts users\u2019 security at risk.<\/p>\n
The iPhone maker became the first company in June to face formal accusations of breaking the DMA\u2019s rules and faces heavy fines unless it addresses the charges.<\/p>\n
Apple announced changes to the App Store on August 8 to comply with the DMA, although smaller tech firms under the Coalition for App Fairness slammed them as \u201cconfusing\u201d. The EU is now evaluating Apple\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n
It is too early to say whether Apple will fall into line without the EU\u2019s heavy hand but one thing is clear: Brussels is ready for a fight.<\/p>\n
Another high-profile test of the bloc\u2019s new powers will be X, with regulators to decide as early as September whether the former Twitter should be made to comply with the DMA.<\/p>\n
The DSA\u2019s rules on curbing disinformation and hate speech have already sparked a spectacular clash between X\u2019s billionaire owner Elon Musk and the bloc\u2019s digital chief Thierry Breton \u2014 with the spectre of fines or an outright EU ban on the site if violations persist.<\/p>\n
EU competition chief Margrethe Vestager has said that Brussels is going at \u201cfull speed\u201d.<\/p>\n
This was always the goal: to cut short the length of competition investigations, which lasted years, to a maximum of 12 months under the DMA.<\/p>\n
But companies can challenge fines or decisions in the EU courts, which could mean years of subsequent legal battles, lawyers say.<\/p>\n
And difficulties can also come from elsewhere: Apple said in June it would delay the rollout of new AI features in Europe because of \u201cregulatory uncertainties\u201d.<\/p>\n
EDRi\u2019s Penfrat accused Apple of fearmongering by blaming the EU for certain features not arriving in the bloc in order \u201cto put pressure on the commission to not be too tough in the enforcement\u201d.<\/p>\n
Apple aside, big tech isn\u2019t happy with DMA action so far.<\/p>\n
\u201cInstead of announcing possible punitive measures with political posturing, these probes under the DMA should focus on fostering open dialogue between the European Commission and the companies concerned,\u201d Daniel Friedlaender, head of tech lobby group CCIA Europe told AFP.<\/p>\n
Undeterred, Brussels is turning up the heat.<\/p>\n
In addition to potential new DMA curbs on X, the EU could soon add Telegram to its list of \u201cvery large\u201d platforms, such as WhatsApp, that face the DSA\u2019s strictest rules.<\/p>\n
Brussels wants no corner of the digital sphere left untouched.<\/p>\n
That includes the critical area of artificial intelligence, with the EU currently looking into deals between giants and generative AI developers, such as Microsoft and its $13-billion tie-up with ChatGPT maker OpenAI.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n