France, Netherlands call for an EU watchdog to regulate tech giants

PARIS/BERLIN: France and the Netherlands on Thursday called for a European Union authority to regulate large tech companies such as Google and Facebook , whose dominance gives them effective internet gatekeeper status.

The move increases pressure on Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, who is preparing a new Digital Services Act, to set tough rules for data-sharing and ensure that marketplaces are fair and open.

The Franco-Dutch proposal, which calls for pre-emptive action to prevent power grabs by Big Tech, overshadowed a gathering of EU ministers that discussed artificial intelligence and cloud computing.