EU Plots Rules to Keep Big Tech on Tight Leash: Brussels Edition

Welcome to the Brussels Edition, Bloomberg’s daily briefing on what matters most in the heart of the European Union. A series of thematic newsletters this week preview the bloc's major policy plans for 2021. Today, our primer on industry and tech.

The EU may once again be two steps ahead of the U.S. when it comes to regulating tech giants. Industry Commissioner Thierry Breton has already invited Washington to join forces on the bloc's Digital Services Act, new rules proposed by the European Commission in December under which companies could face fines of as much as 6% of global revenue if they don’t comply with orders to remove illegal content, including violent hate speech. The unilateral decisions by tech platforms like Facebook and Twitter to ban President Donald Trump have also highlighted the grip a few giants maintain over the internet as a whole, issues the EU wants to address in its Digital Markets Act. In 2021, those two landmark proposals will start moving through the slow process of becoming law. For now, they're in the hands of the European Parliament and the bloc's member states, who will likely make amendments. Here’s a look at what else is in store for tech and industry in Brussels in 2021.

— Natalia Drozdiak and Aoife White