The European Union and the United States want to introduce tighter rules for tech giants like Google. Search engine rivals are ready to step up as efforts are made to create a fairer competitive environment. By dw.com.
Is it right that one company should dominate the internet the way Google does? One person who feels things should be different is Gabriel Weinberg, the 41-year-old CEO of DuckDuckGo, a search engine that claims to protect the user’s private sphere and not collect huge amounts of personal data like Google.
While such legal action has been taken in somewhat piecemeal fashion in the US, the European Union is planning large-scale measures that will revamp the digital world. The European Commission wants to ensure fair competition with a digital services law and a digital market law. Those who violate the intended legislation could face penalties of up to 6% of their annual global revenue.
Asymmetries of power: According to the proposal by the European Commission, platforms will no longer be allowed to prioritize their own content and products over those of other providers. They will have to make their advertising and their recommendation algorithms more transparent so that is possible to trace what is shown to whom when. The EU is even considering breaking up corporations if they don’t stick to the EU rules.
One effective weapon could also be so-called interoperability. This means that the big corporations would have to open up their systems. For example, a WhatsApp message could also be sent to Telegram. “This could lead to more competition on the messenger service market,” Beckedahl told DW. Interesting read!
[Read More]