The European Union has reiterated its demand for Google, Facebook, and Twitter to revise their respective proposals for user terms of service so that those terms comply with the regulatory framework on the Old Continent. The proposed user terms were submitted to EU authorities by the internet giants in March, though the regulators rejected the proposals at that time due to a lack of measures that guarantee those companies operate in line with consumer protection laws in Europe. Last month, through letters sent to the firms, the EU regulators gave the three companies until July 20 to introduce improvements to their proposed changes to terms of service and until September to implement those proposed changes, according to a new report. With the EU now increasing the pressure for those companies to take the necessary steps to uphold consumer protection policies in the region, updates on this case should follow shortly.
When the EU first asked Google, Facebook, and Twitter in March to amend their user terms, the regulators also threatened to impose penalties on those companies if they fail to comply, marking EU’s growing dissatisfaction over how the U.S. social media giants operate. Industry watchers claim two of the companies have already submitted the revised terms while one of them has yet to complete its amended proposals. Authorities on the Old Continent primarily want the companies to change their proposals for the procedures on removing illegal content from their sites, as well as terms that limit the liability of those companies and the provisions that allow them to independently remove user content from their platforms.
The latest development in the case marks just one of the many regulatory battles these companies are facing in the region. This March, the EU had charged Facebook with deliberately providing deceptive information related to its acquisition of instant messaging app WhatsApp in 2014. More recently, the EU said it was planning to take legal action to compel Facebook, Twitter and other social networking sites to sanction illegal content including hate speech, violent content, and fake news shared via their platforms, though the bloc has yet to provide an update on that particular matter.