But they’re unlikely to do so voluntarily, said
Zach Meyers, senior research fellow at the
Centre for European Reform think tank. There is
just too much money on the line if a company
like Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram,
is restricted in how it can target advertising at
specific groups of users.
“The big tech firms will heavily resist other
countries adopting similar rules, and I cannot
imagine the firms voluntarily applying these
rules outside the EU,” Meyers said.
The EU reached a separate agreement last
month on its Digital Markets Act, a law aimed at
reining in the market power of tech giants and
making them treat smaller rivals fairly.
And in 2018, the EU’s General Data Protection
Regulation set the global standard for data
privacy protection, though it has faced criticism
for not being effective at changing the behavior
of tech companies. Much of the problem centers
on the fact that a company’s lead privacy
regulator is in the country where its European
head office is located, which for most tech
companies is Ireland.
Irish regulators have opened dozens of data-
privacy investigations, but have only issued
judgments for a handful. Critics say the problem
is understaffing, but the Irish regulator says the
cases are complex and time-consuming.
EU officials say they have learned from that
experience and will make the Commission the
enforcer for the Digital Services Act and Digital
Markets Act.