Europe’s largest technology companies are set to avoid heavy-handed regulation under a major overhaul of the European Union’s digital rules, despite lobbying from telecoms firms for stricter oversight, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter cited by Reuters.
Alphabet’s Google, Meta Platforms, Netflix, Microsoft and Amazon will not be subject to binding obligations under the proposed Digital Networks Act, a revamp of the EU’s digital framework aimed at strengthening the region’s competitiveness and boosting investment in telecommunications infrastructure. The move comes after years of debate over the power of U.S. technology giants and follows a wave of new digital rules that have drawn sharp criticism from Washington. The European Union has repeatedly rejected claims that its regulatory push unfairly targets American companies.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen is due to present the Digital Networks Act on January 20. The European Commission declined to comment ahead of the proposal, which will still need to be negotiated with EU member states and the European Parliament in the months ahead before it can become law.
According to sources familiar with the draft, the tech giants will be covered only by a voluntary framework, in contrast to telecoms operators, which will face binding requirements. One person told Reuters that the companies would be asked to cooperate and engage in discussions on a voluntary basis, moderated by the EU telecoms regulators’ group, BEREC. There will be no new legal obligations, with the framework designed instead as a best-practice regime.
The draft legislation also sets out plans for harmonising spectrum policy across the 27-member bloc. The Commission is expected to define the duration of spectrum licences, conditions for their sale and a pricing methodology to guide national regulators during auctions, which can generate billions of euros in revenue for governments. While the aim is to reduce regulatory fragmentation and ease the burden on telecoms companies, some national authorities may view the measures as an encroachment on their powers.
Under the proposed overhaul, the Commission will also issue guidance to national regulators on the rollout of fibre infrastructure, which is seen as critical to meeting Europe’s digital ambitions and narrowing the gap with the United States and China. Governments will be allowed to extend the 2030 deadline for replacing copper networks with fibre if they can demonstrate that they are not yet ready to complete the transition.
