在一系列大型社交網站接連曝出侵犯使用者隱私、虛假資訊氾濫等醜聞之後，全球都加大了對幾家科技巨頭的監管審查力度。
本週，歐盟委員會公佈了數字領域的監管新規，對包括亞馬遜、蘋果、Facebook和谷歌在內的美國科技公司的權力進行限制，企業若違反規則，將面臨高達年營業額10％的罰款，並可能被迫分拆。
此次新規可能會徹底改變歐盟對數字市場的監管方式，從而對長期以來中小公司和數百萬歐洲人都依賴的線上平臺起到約束作用。
U.S. tech firms – including Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google – face fines of up to 10 percent of their annual turnover and could be forced to break up under draft European Union rules, aimed at curbing their power.
The rules, announced by the European Commission on Tuesday, could overhaul how the EU regulates digital markets, taming big tech companies that control the data and online platforms relied on by thousands of companies and millions of Europeans.
Regulatory scrutiny has been growing worldwide of tech giants and their power following a string of scandals over privacy and misinformation.
作為此次新規的其中一項，《數字市場法案》旨在釐清數字服務提供者的責任，並將對歐盟市場有重大影響並且擁有核心平臺服務的科技巨頭定義為網際網路“看門人”，要求這些企業承擔更大的網路管理責任，接受歐盟的嚴格監管。不遵守規則的“看門人”將被處以罰款，金額最高可達公司年營業額的10%。
而對於有妨礙競爭做法的平臺，歐盟監管機構還將對公司結構進行整治。這一措施將導致涉及的科技巨頭在歐洲的部分業務面臨被拆分的風險。
One set of rules, the Digital Markets Act, calls for fines up to 10 percent of annual global turnover for so-called online gatekeepers that don't comply with the new rules as well as a break-up order as a last resort.
It also sets out a list of dos and don'ts for gatekeepers, defined as companies with an entrenched position, a significant impact on the EU market and with a core platform service, which is an important gateway to users.
They will also be required to report merger bids to the EU authorities, a move aimed at preventing acquisitions that kill off rival companies.
而另一項備受關注的《數字服務法案》則側重社會責任領域，對擁有超過4500萬用戶以上的大型網路平臺運營進行規範，要求這些社交平臺對釋出內容展開審查，篩除恐怖主義、仇恨言論和虛假資訊等非法內容。此外，平臺必須提高政治廣告的透明度，還要公佈用來提示和排列資訊的演算法引數等細節。
按照新的規定，這些科技企業如有合併或收購意向，需提前向歐盟監管機構報告合併要約，某些種類的資料須與監管機構及競爭對手共享。
The second set of rules, the Digital Services Act, also targets very large online platforms, those with more than 45 million users.
Such companies will be required to do more to tackle hate speech and disinformation on their platform.
The companies will also have to show details of political advertising on their platforms and the parameters used by their algorithms to suggest and rank information.
負責此次立法工作的歐盟競爭事務專員韋斯塔格爾及歐盟內部市場事務專員佈列頓強調，規則不僅為了約束佔主導優勢的科技巨頭，也是為了避免反競爭強勢企業的興起，最終起到“在保護言論自由的同時，創造出安全可信的服務”的作用。
本批法案在週二提交後，將進入漫長的審議過程，如最終生效，將對幾個科技巨擘產生重大影響。對此，Facebook等幾家大型科技公司作出迴應，稱本次草案將“有助於維護網際網路優勢“，但同時它們也強調，過多的監管或將阻礙創新，最終可能迫使個別公司遷離歐洲，使得歐洲使用者失去訪問其網站的許可權。
Both European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager and EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton see the rules as a tool against anti-competitive, dominant companies.
In response, a spokesperson for Facebook said: "We believe the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) are on the right track to help preserve what is good about the internet.
The draft rules will require a long process of feedback and ratification from the European Parliament and EU countries, some of which have pushed for tougher laws, while others are concerned about regulatory overreach and the impact on innovation.