Big Tech like Google, Apple Lossless Audio CODEC (ALAC),, Facebook, Amazon e Microsoft they will be able to receive from the European Union fines of up to 10% of turnover for violating competition law e up to 6% for failure to remove illegal content from the Internet. But extreme solutions will also be possible, that is the dismemberment of European activities o the ban from the EU market. This is the heart of Digital Market Act and Digital Services Act, the two new packages of Antitrust rules developed by Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner for Competition, e Thierry breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market and Services.
The goal is to counter the Silicon Valley oligopoly for open the digital market also to European companies. Competition rules will apply only to companies with more than 45 million customers in Europe (about 10% of the population): in addition to the giants already mentioned, another dozen groups; those on content, however, will be valid for platforms of all sizes.
DIGITAL MARKET ACT: THE RULES ON COMPETITION
In detail, the Digital Market Act it aims to put an end to Big Tech's abuse of its dominant position by acting ex ante rather than ex post, as it has done so far, to no avail. The companies will therefore have to adapt to the new rules, which provide among other things the interoperability of systems e data sharing. If they don't, they will face penalties up to 10% of revenues. In case of recurrence, it will come to the extrema ratio of the smember of European activities.
DIGITAL SERVICE ACT: THE RULES ON ILLEGAL CONTENT
As regards instead the Digital Services Act, its goal is to counter the spread of illegal activities on the web such as terrorism, incitement to hatred, child pornography, the exchange of private images without consent, stalking, the sale of counterfeit products or failure to respect copyright. The Big Techs will then be responsible for content posted by users, albeit at a lower level than traditional publishing (a choice contested by the world of culture). They will not be required to remove illegal content themselves, but will have to do so upon notification. Otherwise, they will receive a fine equal to 6% of turnover and, if they continue to break the rule, they can be banned from the European digital world.
Furthermore, companies will have to have a European contact point like traditional companies and will be forced to make user profiling and marketing for advertising and political purposes more transparent.
The legislative process of the two sets of rules (which will have to be approved by the European Parliament and then by the governments) will certainly be hindered by the Silicon Valley lobbies, as happened at the time of the copyright directive.
