A leading EU official has denied taking a softer approach to big tech companies, saying regulators have a “very clear legal basis” and pointing to several ongoing investigations into social media platforms and others X and Yuan.
Financial Times report Earlier this week, the EU was reassessing its apple, Google Meta – a process that could ultimately lead to the European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, scaling back or changing the focus of its investigations.
However, Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s executive vice-president for technology sovereignty, rebutted in an interview with CNBC on Thursday.
“Our Digital Services Act came into force more than a year ago, and we can say that there are several formal lawsuits going on across all the big platforms: Meta, Instagram, Facebook, but also X and in partnership with TikTok,” Vikkunen said.
“We’re continuing this work so we’re not making any new decisions. So we’re investigating (to see) if they’re following our rules,” she said.
this Digital Services Act The DSA, which will take full effect in 2024, gives EU agencies the power to regulate large technology companies to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and combat disinformation.
Yet despite these new powers, questions are growing about how the EU will actually enforce the rules, especially with President-elect Donald Trump back in the White House.
“It remains to be seen what action the EU will take, as some investigations go further than others, but it is clear that U.S. tech companies will try to use the Trump administration to push back against EU rules,” the Economist Intelligence Unit told CNBC.
it is as technology industry try get comfortable Trump before his second presidential term. Tesla’s Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Zuckerberg will Attend Trump’s inauguration next week, according to NBC News.
Meanwhile, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week called on the incoming U.S. president to review the EU’s treatment of big tech companies, saying the EU’s approach to applying competition rules is “almost like tariffs.”
EU official Virkkunen is part of a team of new politicians who started serving as members of the EU’s executive body last December. The EU has so far been considered a leader in tech regulation and has opened the door to multiple investigations into the conduct of big tech companies.
Asked whether he was considering a softer approach to the industry, Vikkunen said: “We have a very clear legal basis and regulatory rules in Europe, and of course now we are fully enforcing those rules.”
Vickunin did not say whether she felt pressured by Trump’s return to the White House. Instead, she said, “all companies, whether American, European or Chinese, must respect EU regulations.”
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In December 2023, Musk’s X is Encountered the first EU investigation According to the Digital Services Act. The European Commission is Evaluate whether X Breach of transparency obligations and its duty to combat illegal content.
At the time, the agency said it was specifically evaluating areas related to risk management, content moderation, dark mode, ad transparency and access to researcher data.
As Musk continues Courting the far right ahead of German election — including hosting Live discussion Conversation with Alternative for Germany leader Alice Weidel – questions raised over whether the European Commission will assess this conversation in its investigation.
“This is not about Elon Musk. This is about X,” Vikkunen said.
” And the scope of the investigation is already quite large.
