# The EU is about to take a Bigger stick to Big Tech | Tech News (HT Tech) > A new auditing regime should make harder to give Meta, Google and Amazon an easy ride on data protection. # The EU is about to take a Bigger stick to Big Tech ## A new auditing regime should make harder to give Meta, Google and Amazon an easy ride on data protection. Jan 31 2023, 19:11 IST ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook.png) ![Follow on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/follow-us-facebook-hover.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Share.png) ![Share](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Shareclicked.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp.png) ![Share on WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/whatsapp-hover.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter.png) ![Share on Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/twitter-hover.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook.png) ![Share on Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/facebook-hover.png) ![Bookmark](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmark.png) ![Bookmarked](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/Bookmarked.png) ![EU](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/img/2023/01/31/1600x900/Migration-Europe-0_1675171049047_1675171049047_1675171916261_1675171916261.jpg) The European Union (EU) is set to make privacy regulation stricter which can trouble the Big Tech companies (AP) ![Author Photo](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HTTech-new-circle-logo.png) ### By BLOOMBERG It’s well established that the European Union has some of the strictest privacy laws in the world, threatening fines of up to 4% of a company’s annual turnover. A lesser-known fact, and one which large tech firms would like to keep quiet, is that the EU hasn’t enforced those rules very strictly. Since introducing its landmark privacy law known as General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in 2018, the EU has delegated the job of policing Big Tech to the nations where the firms have their European headquarters. That puts enormous pressure on countries like Ireland, which hosts several large internet firms that have frequently been accused of flouting privacy law, including Meta Platforms Inc. Ireland has issued roughly 1 billion euros ($1.1 billion) worth of fines against Meta alone in the past five months, but the penalties took years to come about and, in the latest case, Ireland was forced by its European peers to significantly raise it. Ireland has long been a bottleneck for the EU’s enforcement because of the slow pace with which it has processed cases and its relatively business-friendly interpretation of GDPR rules. But that could well change now that the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, will require each nation to share an overview of its data-protection investigations six times a year. A country’s regulator will also have to give the Commission an overview of all its large-scale cross-border investigations under GDPR including, critically, all key procedural steps taken with each case, and all investigatory or other measures taken, along with dates for each of these steps and measures, according to a document detailing the Commission’s response to suggestions from the European Ombudsman, seen by Bloomberg Opinion. It signals a toughening stance on privacy, holding the regulators themselves to account for investigating companies properly.(1) Also read click here. While the Commission does issue a report every two years or so on the general state of GDPR enforcement, (2)the executive arm has not deeply scrutinized the work of each nation’s privacy regulator in such a formal or systemic way. In theory, if national watchdogs don’t comply with the new requirement for information, that nation’s government could face legal action at the European Court of Justice. The privacy regulators have never had their feet held to the fire quite like this. Ireland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and France are countries for whom this change is most important. Ireland hosts the largest number of tech firms on its shores, while Uber Technologies Inc. is in the Netherlands, Amazon.com Inc. in Luxembourg and Criteo SA, one of the world’s largest online advertising firms, is in France. The change appears to be the result of a complaint made to the European Ombudsman by the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, a human rights group that has lodged several objections with the EU about how Ireland’s privacy watchdog has dealt with Facebook. “Previously you had cases lying dormant for years and privacy law not being applied,” says Johnny Ryan, a senior fellow at the ICCL. “This heralds the beginning of true enforcement, and that means serious European enforcement against Big Tech.” The EU’s one-stop-shop mechanism, which is bureaucrat-speak for making a single country responsible for policing tech firms, has put privacy advocates in the unusual position of lodging complaints not just against companies but against the regulators themselves for not being strict enough. Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems has suggested he’ll take action against Luxembourg’s privacy watchdog because of the long wait over a complaint about Amazon. which has been accused of exposing user information to potential breaches and exploitation. The European Ombudsman, which investigates administrative complaints about the EU, confirmed it had been told by the European Commission that it would increase its scrutiny of national watchdogs. Ireland’s Data Protection Commission has argued that its cases take a long time because they are complex, and that while it is inundated with cases with the myriad tech companies under its jurisdiction, it has resolved hundreds of cross-border complaints over the last four years. But the European Court of Justice has also called out the Irish watchdog for “persistent administrative inertia.” And earlier this month the regulator was forced by Europe’s Data Protection Board to substantially increase a fine against Meta over illegal data processing, from 28 million euros to 390 million euros, after it initially sided with Meta on several aspects of the original complaint which came from Schrems. With the Commission checking each regulator’s homework, the watchdogs will be forced to work harder and avoid stalling: any years-long delays between the lodging of a complaint and the opening of an inquiry will be in full view of the EU mothership, as will many months passing between rounds of correspondence about a case, or complaints leading to no investigation at all. The one drawback to this development is that the Commission won’t do its audits in the open; all the information that national privacy regulators share will be kept “strictly confidential.” Till then we’ll have to make do with what is still a step in the right direction. The renewed scrutiny won’t be public, but at least it will be happening. (1) According to the document, the Commission’s Department for Justice and Consumers, led by Commissioner Didier Reynders, said it would “request all national supervisory data protection authorities to share with the Commission, on a bi-monthly and strictly confidential basis, an overview of large-scale cross-border investigations under the GDPR with information on the following pre-determined fields: Case number; Controller or processor involved; Investigation type (ex officio or complaint-based); summary of investigation scope (including which provisions of the GDPR are at issue); DPAs concerned; Key procedural steps taken and dates; Investigatory or any other measures taken and dates.” (2) The Commission’s last such report was published in 2020 and mentioned Ireland once, saying on a general way that resources for privacy enforcement was “uneven between member states.” This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Parmy Olson is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering technology. A former reporter for the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, she is author of “We Are Anonymous.” Catch all the Latest Tech News, Mobile News, Laptop News, Gaming news, Wearables News , How To News, also keep up with us on Whatsapp channel,Twitter, Facebook, Google News, and Instagram. For our latest videos, subscribe to our YouTube channel. 31 Jan, 19:09 IST big tech ![HT Tech Awards](https://tech.hindustantimes.com/ht-tech-power-list-awards-2026/httech-awards-banner-new.webp) ### Related Stories 29 Sept 2026 71,675,169,545,415 NEXT ARTICLE BEGINS ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Tips & Tricks ![Ghibli-style art](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to turn your photos into Ghibli-style art with ChatGPT for free: Step-by-step guide ![How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to create an invitation using iPhone’s new Apple Invites app- Step-by-step guide ![Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple TV app arrives on Android phones and tablets: What you get and how to install it ![Vodafone Idea OTT plans](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Vodafone Idea users can now stream 17 OTT apps with one subscription: Here's how ![Android data transfer methods](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### How to transfer data from one Android to another using Google backup, USB-C cable, and more ## Editor’s Pick ![iPhone 16e launched with A18 chip, Apple AI—bringing flagship power on a budget: Check specs, price](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 16e launched in India: All details about the new budget mobile from Apple ![DeepSeek was founded in China with only a fraction of the budget of the top AI companies in the US.](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### DeepSeek AI: How it works, who’s behind it, how it’s different from ChatGPT, and its big US market impact explained ![iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iPhone 17 Air likely to get this feature that iPhone 17 Pro models may miss out on ![Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Google Whisk AI explained: How remixing works, availability, and how it differs from Gemini ![iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### iOS 18.4 beta arriving soon: Know why it is the biggest iPhone update ## Trending Stories ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside keep up with tech ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ![Twitter](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-twitter.png) ![WhatsApp](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-whatsApp.png) ![Facebook](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/tech-facebook.png) ## Gaming ![Check out these five gaming monitors under ₹20,000,](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Top 5 gaming monitors under ₹20000 you should consider ![gaming consoles](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Grab gaming consoles at discounted rates during Amazon Great Indian Festival: Up to 72% off ![Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Pokémon GO Wild Area 2025 to bring Grimmsnarl family, Shiny Hatenna, and global challenges ![Shade Silver](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Shade Silver free on Steam for a limited time: Here’s how to get it ![Call of duty](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/ht-tech-bg-img-90-66.png) ### Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 skips Switch 2 at launch, release date and price leak ![View all](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/view-all-icon.png) ## Trending News ### Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order ![Airtel 5G SIM card will now be delivered in 10 minutes with Blinkit- How to order](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Infinix Note 50s 5G+ set to launch in India with 64MP camera and MediaTek Dimensity 7300 SoC ![Infinix Note 50s 5G+](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more ![Xiaomi X Pro QLED Series sale starts in India: Check price, availability, and more](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### Apple plans to train AI using your on-device data without accessing personal content or emails: Report ![Apple Intelligence AI training](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ### CMF Buds 2 key features and price revealed ahead of April 28 launch: Details inside ![CMF Buds 2](https://images.livemint.com/static/static/1x1_img.gif) ## Trending Gadgets Mobiles Laptops Tablets ![HT Tech](https://images.hindustantimes.com/tech/static/revamp/images/png/HT_tech-new.gif) - https://tech.hindustantimes.com/tech/news/the-eu-is-about-to-take-a-bigger-stick-to-big-tech-71675169545415.html