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EU: Big Tech will still face scrutiny under new EU leadership

By  |  September 2, 2019

According to the Wall Street Journal the incoming head of the EU executive arm is promising new laws on artificial intelligence and the use of big data within 100 days of taking office on Nov. 1, as the bloc’s antitrust enforcer gathers evidence in its probes into the practices of companies including Facebook and Amazon,

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    The EU investigations, started by departing EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager, examine how Facebook and Amazon use data gathered on their platforms, and could eventually lead to multimillion-dollar fines. Both companies deny wrongdoing.

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    According to the Journal as the new commission takes shape, President-elect Ursula von der Leyen and her team are sifting through internal proposals for stricter rules in areas from limiting facial-recognition technology to creating a dedicated multibillion-euro fund to prop up the European technology sector.

    “There is a frenzy of pitching ideas to her,” said one official familiar with the internal discussions. A spokesman for Mrs. Von der Leyen said she hasn’t signed off on any of the floated plans, as she is still organizing her team of commissioners.

    The European Commission, apart from enforcing antitrust rules, is the only EU institution that can put forward new legislation, which is then negotiated and approved by EU governments and the European Parliament. Proposals for new legislation are drafted by its thousands of staffers divided into various policy departments, much like ministries in a national government.

    Full Content: Wall Street Journal

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