Big Tech under big fire: All you need to know

US internet giants Google and Facebook are under the toughest scrutiny ever, with several lawsuits filed against their market practices in their home country and more regulatory action in other countries. Here’s a quick guide to what’s happening and what it may all mean.

US States

There’s bipartisan support for these suits, Democrat and Republican authorities are parties

Fed government moved earlier


And Elsewhere…

EU

• EU planning laws -- Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) – that will affect these companies, and others.
• DSA asks tech companies to explain how their algorithms work, open up their advertising archives to regulators and researchers, and do more to tackle harmful content.
• DMA wants sharing of certain kinds of data with rivals and regulators; and outlaws favouring tech companies’ own services.
• Repeated breaches can invite huge fines and mandatory break-ups

UK

France

• France’s finance ministry sent out notices on Nov 30 to big tech companies liable for its digital service tax to pay the levy as planned in December.
• Earlier this year, a French regulator told Google to negotiate with publishers over payment for news content, and the matter remains before courts.
• In November, Google said it had signed copyright agreements with six French newspapers and magazines.

Canada

• Canada plans to impose a tax on corporations providing digital services from 2022.

Australia

So, what may all this mean for tech giants?