EU Takes Action to Regulate Big Tech Companies on Data Collection of Children

The European Union’s influence will be evident in Apple’s newest iPhone, which will be revealed on Tuesday.

Now the iPhone 15 is expected to have a USB-C charger instead of Apple’s usual Lightning charger, after the EU ordered manufacturers to adopt a common connection.

Brussels said this would make life easier for customers and reduce waste.

Apple strongly opposed the 2022 law, claiming it would punish innovation, but the EU’s 27 countries make up the world’s largest single market and Brussels has big tech in its sights.

The common charger is not the only crushing battle against big tech the EU has won, and Brussels believes it will win on several fronts in the coming weeks and months.

Here are some of the ways the EU has forced digital titans to play by the new rules in Europe and beyond:

– “Digital Rulebook” –

The groundbreaking Digital Services Act (DSA) and its sister act the Digital Markets Act (DMA) are the biggest and latest attempts to rein in technology companies.

DSA requires companies to combat harmful and illegal online content and to assess the risks their platforms pose to society.

Any company that violates the DSA faces a fine of up to six percent of annual global turnover.

Under the rules, 19 “very large” online platforms – including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly known as Twitter) and YouTube – had to comply with the DSA by the end of August.

All platforms will be forced to comply by February 2024.

The major platforms named have already made changes, including banning advertising aimed at children and offering personalized feeds to users.

The changes are not limited to the European Union. Snapchat said it would restrict personalized advertising to minors in the UK as well.

“The process of gradual change in these platforms is starting, but the change will not happen overnight,” said Sally Broughton of the Micova Center on Regulation in Europe think tank.

DMA is another thorn in the side of tech companies, especially Apple. The purpose of the law is to dilute the dominant position of certain operators and make the market fairer.

The EU named six “gatekeepers”: Google’s Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook owner Meta, Microsoft and ByteDance’s TikTok. The rules are valid from March 2024.

For Apple, it brings perhaps one of the biggest changes to its ecosystem, dominated by its App Store. DMA forces Apple to allow third-party app stores.

“The DMA really has an impact on how they design their structures,” the EU official said.

Companies also need to make it easier for users to send messages between apps.

But change comes at a price. Meta’s new Twitter-like platform, Threads, has not yet been implemented in the EU due to the bloc’s rules.

– Data protection –

The extreme General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in 2018 and was the EU’s strictest and best-known technology law, ensuring that citizens give their consent to the ways their data is used.

Fines have been imposed for violations.

In May, Ireland’s data protection authority fined Metal the largest single fine ever, 1.2 billion euros ($1.3 billion) for its transfer of personal data between Europe and the United States.

The impact of GDPR has also been felt outside of Europe.

“Companies are hardly looking for EU solutions because if you’re in a global market, you immediately offer it to everyone so that consumers elsewhere can benefit from more privacy,” the EU official said.

– The future is AI-

The EU’s newest technology target is artificial intelligence, after the chatbot ChatGPT demonstrated the technology’s rapid development last year.

Brussels hopes to get the green light for a comprehensive AI law by the end of 2023.

“Artificial intelligence may be an even bolder thing,” the EU official said, adding that the challenge was even bigger for the EU than DSA or DMA.

The official also referred to the data law focused on the sharing of industrial data, which is expected to enter into force in 2025.