EU announces new rules for big tech

Tech giants could face hefty fines and stricter controls as part of new sweeping rules in the European Union. The region had concerns for a long on how powerful some companies have become and how it has become a problem for smaller firms to compete in the market. One of the recommended changes is putting an end to self-preferencing so that search results on a firm’s app or browser will display content and products of other developers, thereby leveling the playing field. With the new rules, Big Tech firms such as Apple and Google will have to allow users to uninstall apps that initially came with their devices. Failure to comply with the new rules will cause fines as high as 10 percent of the companies’ annual European turnover. E.U. aims to enforce remedies to bring functional changes, and the remedy includes forcing companies to disinvest if they systematically breach the new rules.