EU TARGETS APPLE, AMAZON, ALPHABET, BYTEDANCE, META, MICROSOFT IN NEXT PHASE OF DIGITAL CRACKDOWN

The European Union this week targeted Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, Facebook owner Meta and TikTok parent ByteDance under new digital rules aimed at reining in the market power of online companies.

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The six companies were classed as online “gatekeepers” that must face the highest level of scrutiny under the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Markets Act.

The act amounts to a list of do’s and don’ts that seeks to prevent tech giants from cornering new digital markets, with the threat of whopping fines or even the possibility of a company breakup.

It’s part of a sweeping update to the EU’s digital rulebook that’s starting to take force this year, and comes weeks after a companion package of rules aimed at keeping internet users safe, the Digital Services Act, started kicking in.