The bloc’s Digital Markets Act appears to target U.S. tech giants specifically.
The United States is pressing the EU to revise rules targeting digital giants to make them focus less on American companies. The U.S. authorities want to ensure the new laws will also cover tech firms from outside the U.S., according to a report in POLITICO. The publication gained access to a paper that was distributed to Brussels officials.
The goal for the Americans is to change the so-called Digital Markets Act. The move highlights Washington’s concern about plans to rein in the biggest tech companies. This happens as the U.S. government is targeting Brussels officials in the midst of ongoing talks in the Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council. The TTC is a high-level transatlantic discussion group, what the U.S. Chamber of Commerce calls “a forum for strategic engagement on trade and technology.”
In addition to the scope of the plans, the Biden administration also cites security concerns regarding Brussels’ efforts.
“We think it is important that regulatory efforts on either side of the Atlantic do not create unintended adverse consequences, such as inadvertent cybersecurity risks or harms to technological innovation,” the paper states. “We have also been clear that we oppose efforts specifically designed to target only U.S. companies where similarly situated non-U.S. companies would not be covered.”
France pushes for speedy adoption of the DMA
The rules are currently in a hot debate by representatives from the European Parliament and the EU Council. They lay out a series of prohibitions and obligations for some of the world’s largest digital platforms, including Google, Amazon, Meta (Facebook) and Apple. The draft measures cover a range of practices from unfair data use across platform services to self-referencing restrictions. Negotiators are seeking to adopt the DMA on March 24.
The news of a U.S. charge against the EU’s DMA comes following a recent decision from negotiators to fast-track adoption of the rules, which the French presidency regards as one of its priorities during its six-month tenure at the helm of the EU Council.
The U.S. paper seen by POLITICO calls on the EU to avoid a narrow scope of platforms that will come under the new rules. They want to avoid the potential to disproportionately target American companies. U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo (in photo) has previously stated that this is a major concern for Washington.
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