Global regulators in a race to scrutinise, curb power of Silicon Valley

International News

Governments are in a global race to scrutinise Silicon Valley, creating a broad regulatory wave aimed at curbing the power of a small group of American tech giants.
French government officials said Friday they plan to give regulators there sweeping power to audit and fine large social-media companies like Facebook Inc. if they don’t adequately remove hateful content. Competition authorities in India, meanwhile, have launched a probe into whether Alphabet Inc.’s Google uses its mobile operating system to block rivals.
The dual efforts are the latest in a series of increasingly aggressive probes and tough new regulations around the world circumscribing tech firms on a number of different fronts. The European Union has enacted broad restrictions on how companies handle data as concerns over privacy grow. Governments are negotiating where tech giants should pay their taxes and investigating whether some companies are abusing their size and market power to thwart competition.
Officials are also sharing information among themselves. An Indian official familiar with the new Google probe said government officials there consulted with European and U.S. officials before launching their investigation into its Android operating system. The EU, which has inspired countries’ tech probes in the past, fined Google €4.3 billion, or about $4.8 billion, alleging it abused the dominant position of Android.
A Google spokesman said it looked forward to working with Indian competition authorities to “demonstrate how Android has led to more competition and innovation, not less.”

 While much of the toughest scrutiny has emanated from Europe, American officials have shown a new willingness to embrace regulation, too. The Federal Trade Commission is completing a settlement that could include a fine for Facebook of as much as $5 billion, alleging breaches of consumer privacy.