Germany Calls on Big Tech to Fund EU Compliance

In a bid to reinforce the enforcement of new European Union regulations aimed at reigning in the dominance of major technology corporations, Germany has called upon tech giants like Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, ByteDance, Meta Platforms, and Microsoft to shoulder the financial burden of compliance costs.

Sven Giegold, the state secretary overseeing competition policy at Germany’s economy ministry, emphasized the necessity for significant contributions from these companies to facilitate the effective implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

The DMA, slated for enforcement starting March 7th, mandates stringent guidelines for the six aforementioned firms, compelling them to adhere to a range of provisions including facilitating interoperability with rival services, permitting businesses to promote their offerings independently, and refraining from unfairly favoring their products on their platforms, reported Reuters.

Speaking at a conference hosted by the German antitrust agency, Giegold stressed the urgency of bolstering the resources available to EU antitrust regulators to ensure robust enforcement of the DMA. “The (European) Commission needs additional resources for enforcement,” he affirmed, advocating for a funding mechanism akin to the one established under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

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Under the DSA framework, which obliges tech giants to intensify content moderation efforts on their platforms, a select group of 20 major online platforms including Meta, Google, Apple, and TikTok, are required to contribute a supervisory fee amounting to 0.05% of their annual worldwide net income.

Giegold proposed aligning the financing structure for the DMA with that of the DSA, suggesting that Big Tech entities subject to the DMA regulations should similarly allocate financial resources to support the regulatory oversight necessary for compliance.

The move by Germany reflects a broader trend within the EU to hold tech giants accountable for their market dominance and to equip regulatory bodies with the requisite resources to effectively enforce new regulations aimed at fostering fair competition and protecting consumer interests in the digital sphere.

Source: Reuters