EU moves to rein in U.S. tech giants

This transcript was produced with AI technology that converts speech to text. The text is not always reviewed or edited by Reuters journalists and some errors may occur.

[Captions auto-generated & unedited.] Regulatory scrutiny of tech giants and their power is mounting globally. Now Amazon, Apple, Facebook and alphabet unit Google may have to change their way of working in Europe. The E.U. announced new rules for US tech giants on Tuesday. And if broken companies could face hefty fines and even break up orders, the rules are the most serious attempt by the 27 country bloc to rein in the power of the US tech giants. It's worried that they control troves of data and online platforms on which thousands of companies and millions of Europeans rely. The new rules also mark the European Commission's frustration with its antitrust cases against the tech giants, most notably against Google, which critics say did not address the problem. The so-called Digital Markets Act called for fines of up to 10 percent of annual turnover for online gatekeepers found breaching the new rules. It also sets out a list of dos and don'ts for gatekeepers. A second set of rules known as the Digital Services Act also targets very large online platforms, such as those with more than 45 million users. The companies will have to show details of political advertising on their platforms and do more to remove illegal or harmful content. Now the draft rules need to reconcile with the demands of EU countries and EU lawmakers, some of which have pushed for tougher laws, while others are concerned about regulatory overreach and the impact on innovation. Tech companies, which have called for proportionate and balanced laws, are expected to take advantage of this split to lobby for weaker rules. [This transcript was produced with AI technology that converts speech to text. The text is not reviewed or edited by Reuters journalists and some errors may occur.]