On November 17, Patently Apple posted a report titled "EU Lawmakers have reached a Breakthrough on how to Target the Top U.S. Companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook & Amazon." At the time the Financial Times reported that the European Parliament’s main political parties agreed on a deal that would apply to tech companies with a market capitalization of at least €80bn and offering at least one internet service. The top tech companies that the EU Parliament is targeting is Apple, Amazon, Google and Facebook. They were to vote on it last week but the vote appears to have been delayed. It appears that the breakthrough that they announced on November 17 may not be enough to push the bill to victory.  

Today, Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition and digital policy chief, urged the European Parliament and European Council to approve rules to curb the power of Big Tech as a matter of urgency, even if they are imperfect.

Speaking ahead of the FT-ETNO Tech and Politics forum on Monday, Ms Vestager said: "It’s important that everyone realizes that it is best to get 80 per cent now than 100 per cent never. This is another way of saying that perfect should not be the enemy of very, very good."

Ms. Vestager’s appeal comes after almost a year of discussions among EU regulators and legislators, who have struggled to agree on the fine print of the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DMA was created to force so-called gatekeepers, such as Google, to ensure more equal terms on their online platforms, while the DSA seeks to clarify the way large online companies should keep illegal content off their platforms.

The vote on this legislation is now set for December. For more, read the full Irish Times report originating from the Financial Times.