The European Union ramped up pressure on U.S. tech giants today by urging them to take action to tackle online financial scams.
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The EU has demanded that tech firms including Apple (AAPL), Google (GOOGL), Microsoft (MSFT) and Booking.com (BKNG) tell them what action they are taking against scams. The EU said it wanted to find out “how they make sure that their services are not being misused by scammers.”
Digital Services
The request for information comes under the EU’s Digital Services Act, which is the body’s landmark law to crack down on illegal content online.
It relates to Apple’s App Store, Google Play, online travel agent Booking and Microsoft’s Bing search engine.
It could lead to a probe under the DSA and even fines, but does not itself suggest the tech firms have broken the law.
“This is an essential step also to protect users across the EU from certain of these practices, and to make sure that platforms in the EU also play their role,” EU digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier said.
The EU fears app stores could be used by scammers to create fake apps posing as legitimate banking services, or fraudsters could publish links to fake websites on search engines.
Tech Response
A Microsoft spokesperson said the company was “committed to creating safe experiences online and will continue to engage with the European Commission”.
Google said it blocked hundreds of millions of “scammy results in search every day”, while Booking said it would “engage constructively” with Brussels.
“Between 2023 and 2024, we have seen a drop from 1.5 million phishing-related fake reservations detected and blocked down to 250,000,” Booking added. As can be seen above, non-U.S. revenue is a crucial part of the Booking business.
EU Pressure
The DSA and its sister law the Digital Markets Act have been increasingly used by the EU to target, what it sees as the over-dominance of U.S. tech’s products and services on the continent.
It has already launched a number of investigations and handed out a series of fines to most, if not all of the main tech players including Apple, Facebook-owner Meta (META) and Google.
That’s not gone down well with tech leaders with Apple most recently claiming that the EU’s actions are harming consumers from getting access to the most innovative products. Google is also fighting back against attempts to break up its advertising business in Europe.
It has also enraged President Trump who has threatened action against countries who clamp down on U.S. big tech.
However, the EU has vowed that more probes into online platforms are on their way. That includes the completion of an investigation into Elon Musk’s social media site X in the “coming weeks and months.”
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