EU says it will enforce digital rules irrespective of CEO and location


Microsoft logo is seen on the smartphone in front of displayed Apple logo in this illustration taken, July 26, 2021. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union is determined to enforce its full digital rule book no matter who is in charge of companies such as X, Meta, Apple and Tiktok or where they are based, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told Politico.

"That's why we've opened cases against TikTok, X, Apple, Meta just to name a few. We apply the rules fairly, proportionally, and without bias. We don't care where a company's from and who's running it. We care about protecting people," Politico quoted von der Leyen as saying on Sunday.

The EU's Digital Markets Act has been strongly criticised by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.

It sets out a list of dos and don'ts for tech giants such as Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Booking.com, ByteDance, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, aimed at securing a level playing field and giving consumers more choices.

In February, Trump signed a memorandum warning that his administration would scrutinise the bloc's Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act "that dictate how American companies interact with consumers in the European Union".

An EU decision on whether Apple and Meta have breached landmark tech rules aimed at curbing their market power will be issued in the coming weeks, EU antitrust chief Teresa Ribera said two weeks ago.

Both companies are expected to face modest fines for DMA violations, sources told Reuters last month.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold; Editing by Daren Butler)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

Next In Tech News

Oracle shares fall as investors assess up to $50 billion AI funding plan
Trendforce sees chip prices surging 90-95% in Q1 from previous quarter
Apple loses more AI researchers and a Siri executive in latest departures
A chatbot entirely powered by humans, not artificial intelligence? This Chilean community shows why
From fear to familiarity: empowering Malaysia's seniors in the digital age
Oracle says it plans to raise up to $50 billion in debt and equity this year
X back up after brief outage hits US users, Downdetector shows
Musk says steps to stop Russia from using Starlink seem to have worked
French tech company Capgemini to sell US unit linked to ICE
Indonesia lets Elon Musk's Grok resume, lifting ban over sexualised images

Others Also Read