US tech giants such as Facebook Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) and Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) are facing a flurry of antitrust suits across the globe as governments want to keep them in line to limit their dominance.
Google and Facebook facing increased scrutiny from regulators
There is growing tension going into 2021 and nations that had allowed the tech giants to disrupt things with little accountability or scrutiny but they seem to have changed the tone. Countries have enacted laws that could check the tech companies and regulators in Europe and the US have been critical of the companies. The new regulations will forces the most valuable firms globally to change their operations and how they make money. Most of the companies have been accused of breaking antitrust regulations and there is talk that regulators could be looking to break up the monopolies.
Dom Hallas, Coalition for the Digital Economy executive director, told CNBC that several countries could follow suit with what the US regulators are doing regarding the tech giants. Halls said that the US will be a game-changer and other jurisdictions will follow what they do. He added that if the US is going for the tech giants then it’s a ball game but it is unclear whether they are there or closer.
EU tightening regulations in US tech giants
Recently the UE’s executive arm, the European Commission unveiled a raft of proposals for the anticipated Digital Services and Digital markets Acts. These proposals will be implemented once the European Parliament votes them. The proposals will overhaul the digital markets in the Eu zone and force the tech companies to operate in different ways. Most importantly then the legislation will focus on increasing the responsibility of online platforms on content posted on their platforms and enhancing competition.
According to the Financial Times if the companies will engage in anticompetitive tendencies then the EU will break them up as per the proposal. Failure to comply with the new regulations will see Google attract a fine of $16.2 billion whole Facebook could be fined $7.1 billion.
