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What the EU's new tech regulations mean for tech giants

https://www.axios.com/2022/07/06/eu-tech-regulation-laws-dma-dsa

Final European Parliament approval of sweeping, stringent tech regulations Tuesday put European regulators and tech-platform giants on a slow but inevitable collision course.

submitted this linkon July 8, 2022
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    This is big news for app developers in the EU! Glad to see this happening. Hope it trickles into the U.S. after the litany of lawsuits are figured out.

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      There are going to be sooo many lawsuits. Might not even have an effect for the next 4-5 years.

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    The EU just enacted two new laws — the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA) — that'll mean some significant changes for tech giants. Specifically: Google, Amazon, Apple, Facebook (Meta), and Microsoft.

    With the U.S. seemingly incapable of passing any laws addressing these companies' monopolistic behavior, I'm wondering if these EU laws will help IHers in the U.S. too.

    Here's what the laws do:

    "Details: The DMA lays out obligations and punishments for digital service "gatekeepers" who break the law's rules for promoting competition, as Axios previously reported.

    • The law says these companies must obtain "explicit consent" to target ads based on personal data.
    • It requires interoperability between messaging platforms like Apple's iMessage and Meta's WhatsApp.
    • It mandates that large platforms let users select a browser, search engine and personal voice assistant of their choice.

    The DSA puts more responsibility on large platforms to police and take down illegal content, with fines if they fail to comply. It generally states that whatever is considered illegal speech in Europe should also be considered illegal speech online."

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      Great summary, thanks! A few additional specifics I've found that apply directly to developers:

      Companies must:

      • Allow users to install apps from third-party app stores.
      • Allow developers to offer third-party payment systems in apps.
      • Allow developers to integrate their apps and digital services directly with those belonging to a gatekeeper.
      • Give developers access to any hardware feature.

      Companies must not:

      • Require app developers to use certain services or frameworks to be listed in app stores.
      • Give their own products, apps, or services preferential treatment or rank them higher.
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      The Lobby industry has been preventing the US to pass such laws.

      The EU, although no perfect, has been shedding light to important issues of the digital world.

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    "Tech giants won't be allowed to give their own their own products, apps, or services preferential treatment within the EU."

    That'll be interesting to see in practice and how it affects companies like Google, Apple and Amazon