A delegation of the European Parliament met with executives from tech companies including Google, Meta, Apple, Airbnb, eBay, PayPal and Uber to discuss the latest digital market advances, but also to get a closer look at the U.S. legislative work on eCommerce and platforms.
From 23 to 27 May, a delegation of the EU Parliament will be at Silicon Valley to meet with tech companies, authorities and academics. The visit will be led by Andreas Schwab, the main rapporteur of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a new EU law that will impose restrictions on Big Tech companies to foster competition in digital markets.
Lawmakers will also use this opportunity to discuss the recent U.S. legislative work on eCommerce and platforms as well as exchange views on the EU’s digital policy agenda. Just last week, the EU Parliament reached an agreement with EU member states for the approval of the DMA. EU leaders expect that this visit will “feed into the committee’s ongoing work on the digital single market and consumer protection.”
The meeting likely won’t be limited to the topics mentioned in the official press release, and Schwab has already given good proof of that. On Monday (May 23), he tweeted about a documentary on Big Tech companies where he is featured, suggesting that issues like taxation and data control could be also part of the conversations with authorities.
A documentary about market dominance by #data control. 🇪🇺 wants to change with 🇺🇸 in favour of #innovation #taxation #faircompetition #DMA #DSA
👉🏻 https://t.co/C7n0ndCyyx @shoshanazuboff @SchaldemoseMEP @EP_SingleMarket @EuroParlPress pic.twitter.com/BqLARSKppF— Andreas Schwab 🇪🇺🌍MdEP (@Andreas_Schwab) May 23, 2022
Also on Monday, Schwab told Politico that he is planning to bring up accusations against Cloudfare in his next meeting, made by Ukraine’s digital minister that the company is offering services in Russia and paying taxes that “help finance the Russian army.”
But one piece of legislation that is as important to EU lawmakers as the DMA is the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA has been approved by Parliament, but it may still be subject to minor changes in the last legislative steps before the final rubber stamping.
The DSA seeks to make platform companies responsible for the content published on their platforms, and is based on the 2001 eCommerce Directive. With eCommerce being one of the key issues for this visit, there is a strong likelihood the DSA may be discussed. In a similar vein, California lawmakers recently introduced several bills targeting online platforms algorithms, children’s data and privacy.
Read more: California Adds Pressure on Big Tech With Children’s Data Bill
In preparation for this trip, the lawmakers met on May 18 with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen, who praised the EU for adopting the DSA.
“The DSA will be the first instrument that creates a holistic set of obligations for tech companies, which will force them to properly assess and mitigate the harms their products can cause,” Haugen said, adding that the “era of ‘just trust us’ is over.” However, she also warned lawmakers that to make DSA succeed, significant resources will need to be available, lest the law becomes a “dead letter.”
EU institutions are strengthening relationships with companies, regulators and academia in California. Last month, EU officials revealed that the EU is planning to open an office in San Francisco to engage with Silicon Valley giants, given the increasing scrutiny over some of the tech giants headquartered there.
While the plans are not definitive yet, one of the names that have been suggested to lead this office is Gerard de Graaf, a veteran EU official who leads the digital economy and coordination team in the European Commission’s DG Connect, which is responsible for developing the bloc’s digital policy.
See also: EU Nails Down Content Rules of Digital Services Act
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