European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen arrives at the Europa building, the headquarters of the European Union, in Brussels, ahead of the EU summit on Dec. 10, 2020.
The European Union on Tuesday (Jan. 26) called on U.S. President Joe Biden to help draft a joint rule book to limit the power of big tech companies like Facebook and Twitter and to fight fake news that is eating away at Western democracies.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Tuesday, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on the Biden Administration to join forces to fight the “dark side of the digital world” and alleged that the tech giants were indirectly responsible for the Jan. 6 congressional break-in, according to the Associated Press. The Biden administration was called upon to join forces to fight the “dark side of the digital world” and alleged that the tech giants were indirectly behind the January 6 congressional break-in.
“The business models of online platforms can have an impact, and not only on free and fair competition, but also on our democracy, security and the quality of information.” Von der Leyen said, “That’s why we need to curb this enormous power of large digital companies.”
“Together, we can create a rule book for the digital economy that works globally,” she said, which would include: data protection, privacy rules and security of critical infrastructure.
Last December, the European Commission proposed two new pieces of legislation to better protect consumers and their rights online, to push tech companies to be more accountable for their platforms and to improve the competitive environment.
We want these platforms to be transparent about the way their algorithms work,” Von der Leyen said. We cannot accept that decisions that have a profound impact on our democracy are made by computer programs alone.” In addition, tech giants must also assume the responsibility that enforcing censorship should entail, Von der Leyen said, “We want to make it clear that Internet companies are responsible for the way they distribute, promote and remove content.”
Earlier this month, technology giants such as Twitter and Facebook unilaterally decided to block or cancel the personal accounts of former President Donald Trump (Trump), prompting condemnation from political elites around the world. The European Union and dignitaries from Germany, France, Australia and Mexico have spoken out, saying that these companies pose a threat to political freedom around the world and need to be more strictly regulated. Von der Leyen also noted that this is an unprecedented move that highlights the immense power of tech giants to control regulated speech.
No matter how tempting it is for Twitter to shut down President Trump’s account, this kind of gross interference with free speech should not be based on corporate rules alone,” she said. There needs to be legal restraint for such far-reaching decisions.”
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