Strasbourg, 15.12.21. “With the Digital Markets Bill, the EU can become a global leader in digital consumer protection when it comes to regulating tech giants like Meta/Facebook and Google,” said MEP Manuela Ripa (ÖDP).

In the digital law, the Parliament calls for more solid provisions for interoperability: “To regulate the power of the tech giants, it is important that cross-platform use across different messenger services and social media is made possible. Even though I would have liked to see more clarity in the report at this point, it is a great success for my Greens/EFA group to have been able to include this demand in the text,” said Ripa.

“Unfortunately, our demand for a complete ban on personalised advertising did not make it into the report. On the other hand, we succeeded in better protecting minors: In future, their personal data should no longer be allowed to be used by online companies for direct marketing and other advertising purposes,” emphasised the MEP, whose main topics include consumer protection.

How quickly the text will now move forward depends, among other things, on what the EU Council makes of the Parliament’s amendments. “The law has been heavily lobbied. We are facing a billion-dollar industry. Now it depends on the trilogue negotiations at the beginning of the year. The goal must be to make the internet a fair, consumer-friendly space – a real mammoth task,” warns Manuela Ripa.

Now the EU negotiators have to find common ground. After that, another major challenge will be to ensure that the new rules are fully implemented by the online giants.

Photo Credit: Adobe Stock