SWEDEN - Big Tech Faces EU Rules
The European Union has picked out 22 so-called “gatekeeper” services, run by six of the biggest tech companies in the world, to face new rules as part of its latest crackdown on Big Tech.
A list of dos and don’ts set out in the European Union’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) will force the sector to radically reshape its core business practices, a move which may encourage similar steps in other countries.
Businesses labeled as such will be required to make their messaging apps interoperate with rivals and let users decide which apps to pre-install on their devices.
Alphabet’s Google had the highest number of services, including Android operating system, Maps and Search, to face tougher rules. Meta’s Facebook, Instagram, Marketplace and WhatsApp also qualify as gatekeepers.
“While gatekeepers have six months to demonstrate their compliance with their obligations, they must immediately appoint a compliance officer in place, directly reporting to the Board, and inform the Commission of any planned merger or acquisition,” EU industry chief Thierry Breton said.
Companies can be fined up to 10% of their annual global turnover for DMA violations.
-www.reuters.com, 6 September 2023
Arno's Commentary
This type of report encourages conspiracy theorists—they see red flags. Actually, it’s called progressive, end-time globalism. Another article by the BBC states:
A European Union law requires phone manufacturers to adopt a common charging connection by December 2024 to save consumers money and cut waste.
Most new Apple products such as the latest iPads already use USB-C, but the firm had argued against the EU rule.
When it was introduced in September 2021, an Apple representative told BBC News: “Strict regulation mandating just one type of connector stifles innovation rather than encouraging it, which in turn will harm consumers in Europe and around the world.”
Lightning to USB-C adaptors are already available from other electronics brands including Amazon, and all iPhones since the iPhone 8 which launched in 2017 have supported wireless charging.
As the current iPhone 14 now looks to be the last Apple device to exclusively use it, this could mark the beginning of the end of the Lightning cable—which retails on the Apple store for £19.
It’s unclear whether this will be a global change to the product, although the tech giant is less likely to make a different version of the handset for the European market alone.
-www.bbc.com, 4 September 2023
The message is very simple: adapt or lose out. Global businesses are increasingly being required to harmonize and unify. And that, as we can see in these two articles, is part of the race toward the end.
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
