Two European Commission bills, which regulate online content as never before, were approved by the Commission.
Protocol has reported that the Digital Services Act, (DSA), and Digital Markets Acts (DMA) will take effect in 2019. The DSA will target “illegal” content online, while the DMA will focus on regulating Big Tech giants.
Last year, NewsBusters reported that the goal of EU leaders is to weed out so-called “fake news” on social media as well as its attempts to urge the United States to follow suit.
“To respond to disinformation effectively, there is a need for country- and language-specific data,” quoted EU Vice-President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová said at the time. “We know disinformation is different in every country, and the big platforms will now have to provide meaningful data that would allow to understand better the situation on the country level.”
NewsBusters reports that both Acts have been opposed by the U.S. Government so far.
According to Reuters, “DMA would mandate gatekeepers in certain circumstances to give competitors information that could be protected under intellectual property and trade secrets law,” a U.S. document said.
The DMA doesn’t contain specific language related to protection of intellectual properties, trade secrets, or other relevant terminology. There is concern that DMA could override current protections of intellectual property rights in EU law, such as protection of trade secrets.
Big Tech companies have been influenced by the Acts.
NewsBusters earlier this year reported that Apple’s DMA would require third-party app shops to be allowed to use its products, such as iPad and iPhone.
“We believe that the owner of a smartphone should have the freedom to choose how to use it,” European Commission spokesperson Johannes Bahrke told The Verge at the time. “This freedom includes being able to opt for alternative sources of apps on your smartphone. You can also use the [Digital Markets Act]Smartphone owners would be still able to use safe and secure apps from the default store. On top of that, if a user so chooses, the DMA would allow a smartphone owner to also opt for other safe app stores.”
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