EU Unveils Stringent Copyright Rules For Tech

In the effort to create the so-called single digital market, the European Union is set to unveil proposals that would apply new, stringent competition, privacy, and copyright rules on tech companies. The new plans include: potentially giving publishers the right to charge a fee when Google, Facebook, or Twitter uses online content from newspapers or magazines on aggregation sites; applying tougher telecommunications standards to internet phone and messaging apps like WhatsApp; allowing EU consumers to watch and buy digital content from whatever server has the lowest price, regardless of where in the EU it is based; and incentivizing telecom operators to invest in the region’s mobile and broadband networks. Though the EU claims it is not aiming regulations at American tech giants, the fact that Google, Facebook, and Microsoft, among others, will be the most affected “again highlighted how much Europeans rely on American tech when using digital services in their daily lives,” writes the New York Times.