EU Negotiators Agree on Stricter Rules for Big Tech

Negotiators from the European Parliament and EU member states reached an agreement on Thursday on an amendment to the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

These regulations should prevent large technology companies such as Google, Meta, Amazon and Apple from abusing their power.

PvdA member Paul Tang, who negotiated the proposals on behalf of the European Parliament, is delighted with a law that “will fundamentally change the internet”. According to him, “Big Tech” abuse of power is prohibited and severely punished. “This will finally give competing companies a chance and consumers regain control over their own data,” Tang said.

Companies that do not follow the rules risk huge fines or can even be broken up, explains Tang. That could mean, for example, that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, has to give up WhatsApp and Instagram.

On the other hand, according to Tang, thanks to the new rules, users will soon be able to send messages to each other via various applications, for example, from Signal to WhatsApp and vice versa. “A real game-changer,” said the PvdA member.