EU regulators draw up ‘hit list’ of tech giants to share data with smaller rivals
European Union regulators have reportedly drawn up a “hit list” of around 20 tech giants, potentially including Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Google, to reduce their market power.
The internet platforms will be hit with tougher regulations than their smaller rivals under the new rules.
They will be forced to share data with competitors and be more transparent on how they gather information, according to the Financial Times.
The list will be drawn up based on market share and number of users, the report said.
An exact number of companies and the precise criteria for the list is still being discussed.
EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager is expected to announce by the end of this year tough new rules under the Digital Services Act, aimed to increase social media companies’ responsibilities and liability for content on their platforms.
The draft suggests that technology giants may be banned from preferential treatment of their own services on their sites or platforms, to the detriment of rivals, according to the report.
Companies should not be allowed to pre-install their own applications on hardware devices, such as laptops or phones, or force other companies to exclusively pre-install their software, it added.