BRUSSELS, Sept 23 (KUNA) -- The European Commission demanded on Tuesday that major technology companies, including US giants Apple and Google, provide clarifications on the measures they are taking to combat financial scams online, in a move that comes under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
EU digital affairs spokesman Thomas Regnier told reporters in Brussels that "this is an essential step also to protect users across the EU from certain of these practices, and to make sure that platforms in the EU also play their role." He explained that the request for information was also addressed to Microsoft and Booking, regarding "how they make sure that their services are not being misused by scammers." The DSA is the EU's landmark law requiring Big Tech firms to do more to tackle illegal content online, despite facing retaliation threats from former US President Donald Trump and criticism from the US tech sector over what it described as "censorship." The EU has stressed it "will not back down from enforcing its stringent rules to protect Europeans online." The Commission noted that the current request could open the way for an investigation under the law and possibly fines, but does not in itself mean the law has been breached or that it is a punitive move.
The request concerns Apple's App Store, Google Play, online travel agency Booking, and Microsoft's Bing search engine, amid EU fears these platforms could be exploited to spread fake apps posing as real banks or links to fraudulent websites via search engines. (end) arn.gb