Poll suggest Europeans want tougher Big Tech EU enforcement
Almost two-thirds in France (63%), 59% in Germany, and 49% in Spain said EU enforcement of laws addressing Big Tech's influence and power is too relaxed, when asked to choose between too relaxed, too strict, or about right.
Only 7% of respondents in France, 8% in Germany, and 9% in Spain felt the enforcement was too strict.
The survey, commissioned by two NGOs—People vs Big Tech and WeMove Europe—follows the EU's 2022 adoption of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), aimed at regulating tech giants' impact on users and the marketplace.
Both regulations are caught up in the trade dispute between the EU and the US, in which the US has described the DSA and DMA as unjustified non-tariff barriers.
EU Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera told Euronews last week that the EU would not give in to US pressure on the issue.
'We are going to defend our sovereignty,' Ribera said, adding: 'We will defend the way we implement our rules, we will defend a well functioning market and we will not allow anyone to tell us what to do.'
Surprisingly, the survey results also show that the survey participants believed Big Tech holds more power than the EU itself.
Half of French respondents (50%), 48% in Germany, and a majority in Spain (55%) believe that Big Tech companies are 'more powerful' or 'slightly more powerful' than the EU. In contrast, only 9% in France, 12% in Germany, and 15% in Spain think tech giants are 'slightly less powerful' or 'much less powerful.'
The survey was conducted on a sample of 2,070 respondents in France, 2,323 in Germany, and 2,077 in Spain.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
22 minutes ago
- France 24
France demands immediate release of couple held in Iran, warns of sanctions
France said on Thursday it would decide whether to reimpose sanctions against Iran over its nuclear programme depending on whether Tehran released two French detainees charged with spying for Israel. "Freeing Cécile Kohler and Jacques Paris is an absolute priority for us," Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot said. "We have always told our interlocutors from the Iranian regime that any decisions on sanctions will be conditional on resolving this issue." Iran officially suspended its co-operation with the United Nations nuclear watchdog on Wednesday. The move came after a 12-day conflict last month between Iran and Israel, which saw unprecedented Israeli and US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities and sharply escalated tensions between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, accuse Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies that, but has gradually broken away from its commitments under a 2015 nuclear deal it struck with world powers, after the United States pulled out of it in 2018. Israel has maintained ambiguity about its own atomic arsenal, neither officially confirming nor denying it exists, but the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute estimates its arsenal amounts to 90 nuclear warheads. The landmark 2015 Iran nuclear deal provided Tehran with sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its atomic programme to be monitored by the UN nuclear watchdog. The deal included the possibility of UN sanctions being reimposed through a mechanism called "snapback" if Iran failed to fulfil its commitments, an option that expires in October. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has urged European signatories of the 2015 deal to trigger the "snapback" mechanism and reinstate all UN sanctions on Iran. Kohler, 40, and Paris, her 72-year-old partner, have been held in Iran since May 2022 on espionage charges their families reject. But Iran has now charged the pair with spying for Israel's intelligence agency Mossad, diplomatic and family sources told AFP on Wednesday. They were also accused of "corruption of Earth" and "plotting to overthrow the regime", the sources said. All three charges carry the death penalty. Tehran has not confirmed the new charges. A French diplomatic source described the allegations as "completely unfounded". Iran is believed to hold around 20 European nationals, many of whose cases have never been publicised, in what some Western governments including France describe as a strategy of hostage-taking aimed at extracting concessions from the West. Three other Europeans, who have not been identified, have also been arrested in the wake of the current conflict, two of whom are accused of spying for Israel, according to the authorities.
France 24
37 minutes ago
- France 24
Palestinians mourn director of key Gaza hospital killed in Israeli strike
01:47 03/07/2025 French air traffic controllers' strike disrupts early summer season travel 03/07/2025 Dozens still missing after ferry sinks on way to Indonesia's Bali 03/07/2025 Thailand gets third leader this week as king swears in new cabinet 03/07/2025 On the verge of a ceasefire deal in Gaza? 03/07/2025 US pause some weapons deliveries to Ukraine over depleting military stockpiles 03/07/2025 Iran charges two French detainees with 'spying' for Israel 02/07/2025 Thailand-Cambodia border conflict 'instrumentalised, weaponised' for internal political purposes Asia / Pacific 02/07/2025 United States : P. Diddy acquitted of most serious charges Americas 02/07/2025
France 24
an hour ago
- France 24
France fines Shein 40 mn euros over 'deceptive' sales practices
The French competition and anti-fraud office said the investigation found Shein used "deceptive commercial practices towards consumers regarding... price reductions", with the fine handed down with the blessing of the Paris prosecutor's office. The DGCCRF competition office said the nearly year-long probe found that the firm raised certain prices before lowering them. It added that the China-founded retailer had accepted the fine. "These practices of greatly discounted prices and permanent promotions give consumers the impression they're getting a great deal," said the DGCCRF. If found that 11 percent of advertised discounts it checked "were actually price increases". In 57 percent of cases Shein's advertised promotions actually offered "no price reduction" and in 19 percent of cases the price drop "less significant than announced". Launched in France in 2015, Shein has seen phenomenal growth in recent years and took its share in the domestic clothing and footwear last year to three percent from two in 2021 -- a significant slice in what is a notably fragmented market. The company, which has become a figurehead for the downside of "ultrafast fashion," is decried in some quarters for causing environmental pollution as well as indulging in unfair competition and allowing poor working conditions. In a statement to AFP, Shein said it had put into action "without delay" necessary corrective action inside two months on learning of the DGCCRF probe against in March of last year. It added it took its legal and regulatory obligations in France "very seriously"and was committed to transparency.
