EU Lawmakers Pass Landmark Technology Rules, But Enforcement is a Concern

On Tuesday, EU lawmakers approved landmark rules to rein in tech titans such as Alphabet unit Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Microsoft, but enforcement may be hampered by regulators' limited resources. Along with the Digital Markets Act (DMA) rules, lawmakers also approved the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to do more to police the internet for illegal content.

Companies can face fines of up to 10% of their annual global turnover for DMA violations and 6% for DSA violations. Earlier this year, lawmakers and EU member states reached a political agreement on both rule books, leaving some details to be worked out.

The European Commission has formed a taskforce, with approximately 80 officials expected to participate, which critics say is insufficient. It issued a 12-million-euro ($12.3-million) tender last month for experts to assist in investigations and compliance enforcement over a four-year period.

Thierry Breton, EU industry chief, attempted to address enforcement concerns by stating that different teams would focus on different issues such as risk assessments, interoperability of messenger services, and data access during rule implementation. In addition, regulators will establish a European Centre for Algorithmic Transparency to attract data scientists and algorithm scientists to assist with enforcement.