Google Steps Up Campaign Against EU Push for Tough New Tech Rules

The EU proposal has triggered intense lobbying from US tech giants worried about the impact on their business models.

By Reuters | Updated: 29 October 2020 10:22 IST

Google Steps Up Campaign Against EU Push for Tough New Tech Rules

Google said new rules should take into account people and companies are asking more from tech companies

Highlights

European Commission will publish rules called the DSA on December 2
The 18-page document also proposed enlisting as allies EU countries
Another leg of the strategy is to spell out the costs to consumers

Alphabet unit Google has launched a 60-day strategy to counter the European Union's push for tough new tech rules by getting US allies to push back against the EU's digital chief and spelling out the costs of new regulations, according to a Google internal document.

The European Commission will publish rules called the Digital Services Act (DSA) on December 2, after which they will need to be reconciled with proposals from EU countries and the European Parliament before they become legislation.

The proposal has triggered intense lobbying from US tech giants and even some European tech peers worried about the impact on their business models.

Google Being Probed by Italian Watchdog Over Advertising Market Abuse

The objective is to "remove from the Commission proposal unreasonable constraints to our business model, our ability to improve our products or roll out new features/services," the document, dated October and seen by Reuters, said.

When asked about the document, Google said new rules should take into account that people and companies are asking more from tech companies, rather than less.

"As we've made clear in our public and private communications, we have concerns about certain reported proposals that would prevent global technology companies from serving the growing needs of European users and businesses," Karan Bhatia, vice president, global government affairs and public policy, said.

The paper proposed increasing the pushback against European Commissioner for internal market Thierry Breton, who is in charge of the DSA, by reaching out to the US government and embassies with the message that the new rules threaten transatlantic relations.

It also suggested playing on potential concerns at the Commission's competition unit by saying the DSA threatens its power. Another leg of the strategy is to spell out the costs to consumers and businesses.

The 18-page document also proposed enlisting as allies EU countries and European online companies such as Allegro, Trivago, booking.com, Zalando and REWE.

© Thomson Reuters 2020

Are iPhone 12 mini, HomePod mini the Perfect Apple Devices for India? We discussed this on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast, which you can subscribe to via Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or RSS, download the episode, or just hit the play button below.

Affiliate links may be automatically generated - see our ethics statement for details.

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.