The world’s biggest tech titans are being forced to comply with new European Union regulations aimed at protecting users.
Nineteen of the globe’s biggest platforms including Facebook and TikTok, face the strictest rules which include having plans in place to protect children and stop election interference under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA.)
Those who break the rules face huge fines.
Many of those being targeted have already made changes, some of which will affect users in Britain.
The UK Online Safety Bill is still working its way through the British parliament, but the DSA became law on 16 November 2022.
On 25 April the commission named platforms with more than 45 million EU users that would face the toughest rules.
Along with Facebook and TikTok, they are Alibaba, AliExpress, Amazon Store, the Apple App Store, Booking.com, Google Play, Google Maps, Google Shopping, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, X (formerly Twitter), Wikipedia, YouTube and Zalando. Search engines Google and Bing.
They had four months to comply with the act's rules and smaller tech services won't have to comply until next year.
Breaches could lead to a fine of 6 per cent of turnover and potentially suspension of the service.
TikTok and Meta said more than 1,000 people across their businesses had worked on complying with the act.
X said it was “on track” to meet its compliance deadlines.
But retailers Zalando and Amazon have mounted legal action to contest their designation as large online platform.
Amazon is arguing it is not the largest retailer in any of the EU countries where they operate.
But it said it has taken steps to comply with the DSA and “created a new channel for submitting notices against suspected illegal products and content”.
Zalando told the BBC in a statement it will be compliant with the act.
Wikipedia has made some changes in response to the DSA but the foundation which supports the project says they should not affect users everyday experiences.
Phil Bradley-Schmieg, legal counsel at the Wikimedia Foundation, said: “Our hope is that lawmakers emulate the DSA; understand the diverse internet ecosystem; and protect safe, free, and public projects online.”
