Big Tech crackdown looms as EU, UK ready new rules
Europe works to curb the power of digital companies
LONDON >>
TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Google, and Amazon are facing rising pressure from European authorities as London and Brussels advanced new rules Tuesday to curb the power of digital companies.
They're among those on a list of the 19 biggest online platforms and search engines that the European Union's executive arm said must meet extra obligations for cleaning up illegal content and disinformation and keeping users safe under the 27-nation bloc's landmark digital rules that take effect later this year.
The U.K. government, meanwhile, unveiled draft legislation that would give regulators more power to protect consumers from online scams and fake reviews and boost digital competition.
The updates help solidify Europe's reputation as the global leader in efforts to rein in the power of social media companies and other digital platforms.
TikTok will allow European Commission officials to carry out a “stress test” of its systems to ensure they comply with the Digital Services Act, Commissioner Thierry Breton said in an online briefing.
He proposed the idea to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew when they met in Brussels earlier this year.
“I'm happy that they came back to us saying they are interested,” Breton said, but added that he's waiting for Chew to provide a date. TikTok did not reply to a request for comment.
Twitter had agreed earlier to a stress test, and Breton said he and his team will travel to the company's headquarters in San Francisco at the end of June to carry out the voluntary mock exercise. Breton didn't detail what the test would entail.
Starting Aug. 25, the biggest online platforms will have to give European users more control by making it easier to report illegal content like hate speech and providing more information on why their systems recommend certain content.
There are guardrails for content generated by artificial intelligence like deepfake videos and synthetic images, which will have to be clearly labeled when they come up in search results, Breton said.
Platforms will have to “completely redesign” their systems to ensure high a level of privacy and safety for children, including verifying users' ages, Breton said.
Big Tech companies also will have to revamp their systems to “prevent algorithmic amplification of disinformation,” he said, saying he was particularly concerned about Facebook's content moderation systems ahead of September elections in Slovakia.
“Now that Facebook has been designated as a very large online platform, Meta needs to carefully investigate its system and fix it where needed ASAP,” he said.
Facebook's parent company said it supports the EU's new Digital Services Act.
“We are already taking extensive steps to ensure we meet the DSA's requirements, including expanding and evolving our existing transparency tools and reporting systems,” Meta said.