Tough EU tech rules: here's the what, why and what comes next

An activist of Avaaz wears a mask depicting the face of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a protest in Brussels, Belgium, December 15, 2020. REUTERS/Francois Walschaerts

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission announced draft rules on Tuesday to rein in tech giants such as Alphabet's Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon, the most significant among a raft of measures taken by regulators worldwide.

Here is what European Union regulators hope to achieve, and the factors that will affect the final legislation expected to be adopted in the coming months, or possibly longer.