EU to introduce new rules for tech giants

The European Union is set to introduce new rules to even the playing field for tech companies.

On Thursday, EU parliament and council negotiators agreed on a new set of rules to limit the market power of tech giants - or online ‘gatekeepers’ - including Facebook, Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon.

The rules, which still need to pass further approval, would apply to social media platforms, social networks or search engines with a market capitalisation of at least 75 billion euros or an annual turnover of 7.5 billion euros.

‘Gatekeepers’ also must have at least 45 million monthly end users in the EU and 10,000 annual business users.

Under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), large messenger platforms will have to “open up and interoperate with smaller messaging platforms, if they so request”.

Additionally, there will be stricter rules on how tech companies use user data, and there will be a requirement to allow users to “freely choose their browser, virtual assistants or search engines”.

Tech companies not complying with the rules could face fines of up to 10 percent of their total worldwide turnover, or 20 percent in case of repeated infringements.