The Council of the European Union (EU) has given this Monday the definitive ‘green light’ to the new rules for the large digital platforms, regulating competition in the community space and foreseeing fines of up to 20% of the total billing in case of systematic infringement.
In a statement, the structure that brings together the EU Member States reports that “today it gave its final approval to the new rules for a fair and competitive digital sector through the Regulation of Digital Markets”, pointing out that “conditions of fair digital competition are at stake that establish clear rights and rules for the main online platforms [as gatekeepers, como a Google] and ensure that none of them abuse their position”.
“The regulation of the digital market at EU level will create a competitive and fair digital environment, which will allow companies and consumers to benefit from the opportunities of the digital world”, underlines the Council.
It is anticipated that if a gatekeeper (goalie) that violates the rules established by the regulation, may be sanctioned with a fine of up to 10% of its total worldwide turnover, a percentage that rises to 20% in case of recidivism.
On the other hand, if a gatekeeper engages in systematic non-compliance behavior, i.e. breaks the rules at least three times in eight years, the European Commission can open a market investigation and, where appropriate, impose behavioral or structural corrective measures.
Monday’s adoption comes after the Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement last March. The regulation will enter into force six months after its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
This Digital Markets Law aims to create rules on which technology companies, that is, those that have a status of goalkeepers (content intermediaries), whether or not they are authorized to do so in the EU, a kind of blacklist with rules for these large platforms.
Presented by the European Commission in December 2020 and discussed between the co-legislators since then, the proposal specifically contemplates the regulation of the digital market, in which content intermediaries (such as Google) can currently obtain a higher market share than that of entities smaller, in a competition that is not fair.
The new Digital Markets Law will then apply to goalkeeperscompanies that sometimes create barriers between businesses and consumers and control entire ecosystems, made up of different service platforms, such as online marketplaces, operating systems, online services cloud or search engines online.
To avoid this, content intermediary platforms will be subject to new clearly defined obligations and prohibitions.
The digital package proposed by the community executive in December 2020 also includes a new Digital Services Law, which defines what is a crime disconnected is also in onlineas incitement to hatred and racism.
The Council is expected to adopt, in September 2022, the provisional agreement on the Digital Services Regulation, which was reached by the Council and the European Parliament last April.
The EU legal framework for digital services has not changed since the e-commerce directive was adopted in 2000.
Source: Observadora
