Tech Giants Face Fines Of 10% Of EU Revenue In New Crackdown

Tech giants could face fines as high as 10% of annual revenue if they don’t comply with new European Union rules on data usage to be unveiled Tuesday, December 15, according to Bloomberg News.

Companies that could include Google, Amazon, and Apple will be banned from using any data from business users to compete with them or from treating their own services more favorably in rankings, among other obligations.

A company that “systemically infringes” the obligations could face orders by the European Commission to make behavioral and structural changes, such as divesting businesses. Companies will be considered to be in systemic non-compliance if the EU has issued at least three fines within a period of five years.

The rules are still in draft form and could be subject to revisions. A spokesperson from the European Union declined to comment. 

The gatekeeper regulation is part of a wider package of tech policies due to be unveiled on December 15. The EU will also propose separate rules that will force greater responsibility on platforms for what users post on their sites, threatening fines as high as 6% of global revenue for very large social media platforms if they don’t comply with orders to remove terror propaganda or other illegal posts.

Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.