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Vestager Asks Big Tech To Work With EU Or Face National Laws

By  |  January 20, 2021

EU’s Vestager has warned that Big Tech companies will face a flurry of countries passing laws to curb their power if they do not support the EU’s approach to regulation, reported The Financial Times.

Ms Vestager, who is both the EU’s competition chief and its head of digital policy, said it was in the interests of the likes of Google, Facebook, and Amazon to work with Brussels if they want to avoid “a completely fragmented European legal system.”

The EU has recently put forward proposals for new legislation that will span the bloc — the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act — designed to create a fairer playing field and make online platforms more responsible for the content posted on them.

But EU officials are also concerned that some member States are taking unilateral action because of political pressure to rein in the tech giants. “We are worried that countries are rushing to legislation and will seek to delay the negotiations so they can establish the rules of the game ahead of the commission,” said one person involved in the process.

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