The European Union (EU) on Tuesday published a list of 19 digital platforms with millions of users, among them giants such as. Instagram, TikTok y Twitter, who will have to undergo reinforced controls as of the end of August.
The list also includes the main services of Amazon, Google, Meta y Microsoft, all with more than 45 million monthly active users in all 27 countries of the European Union.
Annual controls
Under the new regulations, these companies will have to undergo annual audits and comply with procedures for dealing with disinformation and hate speech.
The European Union adopted in fact two markedly strict laws, one on Digital Services (LSD) and the other on Digital Markets (LMD), in its eagerness to bring order to the operations of the digital giants in the European space.
The DSA, which came into force in November, defines a threshold of 45 million users per year to distinguish among platforms those that because of their size are considered “systemic” and require special observation.
In addition. it establishes a difference between “Very Large Online Platforms” (VLOP) and “Very Large Online Search Engines” (VLOSE).
The search engines included in the list are. Google Search y Bing.
In the case of Google, the rule affects special services such as. Google Search, Google Maps, Google Shopping y Google Playas well as to Youtube.
Also classified as giant companies are the professional network. LinkedInApple’s iOS store (App Store), the online encyclopedia Wikipediathe messaging service Snapchat and the website Pinterest.
For the most part, these are U.S.-based companies, although it does include video platform TikTok and the online store AliExpressboth from China, as well as the German firm Zalandoonline clothing retailer.
Also included was the hotel and ticket booking site. Booking.
There will be fines if they do not comply
By force of regulation, companies that do not comply with the law will have to pay fines that could reach 6 % of their global revenues and would even be liable to face a temporary ban from operating in the European space.
These firms will have to expose their operating algorithms to experts from the European Commission (the executive arm of the European Union) and will have to make their data available to selected EU-supported researchers.
“This new monitoring system casts a wide net to detect compliance failures on the part of platforms,” said European Internal Market Commissioner Therry Breton.(AFP)
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