EU targets Google, Facebook, Twitter and other ‘very large’ tech companies with stricter rules

Social media giants, Google, Alibaba, Amazon and Wikipedia are among the big tech companies that have been labelled “Very Large Online Platforms” by the European Commission and will now have to adhere to tighter rules under the bloc’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA).

The EU’s executive unveiled its first list of 19 companies deemed “very large” on Tuesday. They received the accolade because they have at least 45 million monthly active users.

Seventeen have been dubbed Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs). They include Alibaba AliExpress, Amazon Store, Apple AppStore, Booking.com, Facebook, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Shopping, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube, and Zalando.

Bing and Google Search have meanwhile been designated as Very Large Online Search Engines.

These companies now have four months to comply with the full set of new obligations under the DSA. The piece of legislation came into force in November and aims to strengthen the protection of users’ rights online, and provide greater transparency and accountability.

They will, for instance, be required to give clear information on why they recommend certain information to certain users and allow these users to opt out; provide users with a simple tool to flag illegal content and with easily understandable terms and conditions; take stronger steps to counter the spread of illegal content and disinformation; and give researchers access to publicly available data.

Crucially, they will have to allow experts from the newly-created European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency (ECAT), an EU agency, to assess whether their algorithm is in line with the various obligations.

“Thanks to the Digital Services Act, European citizens and businesses will benefit from a safer internet,” European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton said in a video released on Twitter.

“As of 25 of August, online platforms and search engines with more than 45 million active users in the EU will have stronger obligations because with great scale comes great responsibility,” he added.

Zach Meyers, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, described the list as “not especially surprising.”

“It is notable that, as expected, very few European companies will face the toughest regulation under the DSA – with a few exceptions such as Booking.com,” he told Euronews.

“There are some surprising omissions from the list, including Spotify and Airbnb, although the Commission has said it is still examining whether additional companies need to comply with the toughest requirements – so they may not want to relax just yet,” he added.

Member states have until February 2024 to set up national agencies to oversee these Very Large companies as well as smaller platforms and search engines.

This is a developing story. Check back later for updates.