The legislation has faced lobbying from the tech companies and intense debate over the extent of freedom of speech.
BRUSSELS - The European Union on Friday homed in on new regulation to require Big Tech to remove harmful online content, the bloc's latest move to rein in the world's online giants.
The text is the companion to the Digital Markets Act , which targeted anti-competitive practices among tech behemoths like Google and Facebook and was concluded in late March. The dark side of the internet also includes e-commerce platforms filled with counterfeit or defective products.The proposed regulation would require platforms to swiftly remove illegal content as soon as they are aware of its existence. Social networks would have to suspend users who frequently breach the law.
The list of companies has not yet been released but will include giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon, Microsoft, as well as Twitter and probably the likes of TikTok, Zalando and Booking.com. Hillary Clinton, the former US secretary of state and presidential candidate, applauded the EU for taking action.