Brussels has avoided the trap of setting itself up as a ubiquitous police officer. Attempting to tackle head-on all forms of disinformation, harassment and manipulation of opinion is a challenge far too complex to be effectively tackled by the Commission alone. It will be up to the internet platforms themselves to ensure compliance with the rules laid down by the EU and prevent any excesses, on pain of heavy financial penalties or even exclusion from the European market. This is where the EU comes into its own: It has the economic and legal clout to limit the power of the platforms, which no national regulator is able to do.

Internet giants will be forced to remove potentially problematic content that, in the real world, already falls within the scope of the law. They will also be required to prevent the mass distribution of such content by controlling the way it is selected and highlighted by their algorithms. Finally, players will have to be more transparent with users about content recommendations and advertising targeting. Users will even be able to opt-out under certain conditions. While this does not mean reversing the balance of power, it does represent a necessary rebalancing.

Obsession with profit

The EU has therefore become the first to attempt to strike a fair balance between the laissez-faire approach prevalent in the US and the authoritarian, protectionist censorship exercised by Xi Jinping’s China. Although the European initiative was initially seen as an admission of powerlessness, given the inability of the EU to compete with its own internet heavyweights, has come to be seen as an obvious response to the abuses observed.