U.S. and EU look to work more closely in regulating Big Tech at summit
23/09/2021 13:00
By Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - The United States and
European Union plan to take a more unified approach to limit the
growing market power of Big Tech companies, according to a draft
memo seen by Reuters.
The move will be among announcements on tech, climate, trade
and supply chains likely to be made at a U.S.-EU Trade &
Technology Council meeting on Sept. 29 in Pittsburgh.
With the U.S. and Europe trying to restrain the growing
power of American tech giants such as Alphabet's Google
GOOGL.O , Facebook FB.O , Apple AAPL.O and Amazon.com Inc
AMZN.O , such cooperation has become critically important for
regulators on both sides of the Atlantic - and would make it
harder for the U.S. tech industry to fight new rules.
This month, the White House announced that the council would
meet for the first time on Sept. 29 in Pittsburgh. U.S.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Commerce Secretary Gina
Raimondo, U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai and the
European Union's trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis are scheduled to
attend along with European Commissioner for Competition
Margrethe Vestager.
The White House, which is coordinating with different
agencies on the meeting, declined to comment on the memo. Apple,
Facebook, Amazon and Google did not immediately respond to
requests for comment.
The council has 10 working groups for areas such as
strengthening trade, economic relations and shared democratic
values, according to the draft memo.
The group focused on tech company regulation will "exchange
information on our respective approaches to technology platform
governance, seeking convergence where feasible," the memo says.
There are many examples where the two continents could
cooperate more. Google, which faces several antitrust lawsuits
in the U.S. related to its advertising business, also faces a
wide-ranging investigation related to ad technology in the EU.
"We have identified common issues of concern around
gatekeeper power by major platforms and the responsibility of
online intermediaries," the memo says, adding that more can be
done to combat misinformation.
"This includes in particular the responsibility of online
intermediaries to safeguard democratic processes from the impact
of their business activities. Areas of common ground... include
content moderation and fair competition," the memo said.
The group will tackle areas such as hate speech, algorithmic
amplification and data access for researchers, the memo says.
The council's climate and clean tech group will work to
identify trade and investment opportunities in low- and
zero-carbon technologies and products, according to the memo.
The supply chain working group will focus on securing supplies
of pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and clean energy.
The council will also work to address the shortage of
semiconductor chips in a way that is "balanced and of equal
interest for both parties" and will avoid a "subsidy race."
On Wednesday, Reuters reported that European Union
ambassadors have postponed discussions to prepare for the
meeting in protest of Washington's submarine agreement with
Australia at France's expense. https://reut.rs/2W2FTbw
A spokesperson for the White House's National Security
Council said preparations for the meeting were continuing.
Several tech trade groups in Washington said the industry
does not want the European approach to digital regulation to be
adopted in the United States.
"The risk is that the European side will press the United
States to harmonize its regulations with the EU by taking a
precautionary approach... which would skewer America's leading
tech companies," said Robert Atkinson, president of the
Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a tech think
tank based in Washington.
"We shouldn't do that, nor do we need to. Our interests are
broadly aligned and compatible, particularly when it comes to
China," Atkinson said.
(Reporting by Nandita Bose in Washington, Editing by Chris
Sanders and Gerry Doyle)
((nandita.bose@thomsonreuters.com; +12023545868; Reuters
Messaging: nandita.bose.reuters.com@reuters.net))