Under proposed EU laws, US internet giants such as Apple, Google, Facebook, and Amazon should be controlled by the EU nation in which they are located, a leading legislator said on Tuesday, rejecting demands by certain countries to extend the scope of the planned legislation.
The nation of origin concept is outlined in EU antitrust head Margrethe Vestager’s new guidelines, dubbed the Digital Services Act, which mandates that US tech companies do more to regulate the internet for unlawful and harmful material.
Because Apple, Alphabet’s Google, and Facebook have European headquarters in Ireland, the principle means that Ireland is responsible for regulating them, while Luxembourg is in charge of Amazon.
France and a few other nations want to extend the scope, fearing that concentrating enforcement in just two countries will undermine the rules and impede decision-making.
Christel Schaldemose, a lawmaker who is guiding the DSA through the European Parliament and has the authority to alter or add to it, endorses the act’s fundamental concept.
In an interview, she said, “It makes sense to preserve the nation of origin idea.”
Schaldemose, on the other hand, wants to go one step farther than Vestager and include in the DSA a prohibition on some targeted advertising.
“Advertisements targeted at you based on your Facebook activity, for example, should not be allowed. Advertising based on the fact that you have visited websites for the purpose of purchasing shoes and similar items, as well as traditional commercial advertisements, should most likely be permitted “she stated
Schaldemoe stated that she intends to finalize her draft with other legislators in the next two months so that she can work out an agreement with EU nations next year before the new regulations take effect.
