By Oyintari Ben
Beginning in August, the new EU online content regulations would apply to Alibaba’s AliExpress, Amazon’s Marketplace, Apple’s App Store, Amazon and 16 other major businesses, according to EU industry director Thierry Breton.
Booking.com, Facebook, Google Maps, Google Play, Google Search, Google Shopping, Instagram, Linkedin, Pinterest, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, Wikipedia, YouTube, Microsoft’s Bing, and Zalando make up the remaining 16 businesses.
The companies, which collectively have more than 45 million monthly active users, are expected to manage risk, perform external and independent auditing, exchange data with regulators and researchers, and adopt a code of conduct under the historic regulations known as the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Breton said he was looking into whether another four to five companies fall under the DSA, with a decision expected in the coming weeks.
“We consider these 19 online platforms and search engines have become systematically relevant and have special responsibilities to make the internet safer,” Breton told reporters.
