Published on •Updated
The majority of French, Spanish, and German citizens want stricter EU enforcement of Big Tech, according to a new YouGov survey.
Almost two-thirds in France (63%), 59% in Germany, and 49% in Spain said EU enforcement of laws addressing Big Tech’s influence and power is too relaxed, when asked to choose between too relaxed, too strict, or about right.
Only 7% of respondents in France, 8% in Germany, and 9% in Spain felt the enforcement was too strict.
The survey, commissioned by two NGOs—People vs Big Tech and WeMove Europe—follows the EU’s 2022 adoption of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA), aimed at regulating tech giants’ impact on users and the marketplace.
Both regulations are caught up in the trade dispute between the EU and the US, in which the US has described the DSA and DMA as unjustified non-tariff barriers.
EU Competition Commissioner Teresa Ribera told Euronews last week that the EU would not give in to US pressure on the issue.
“We are going to defend our sovereignty,” Ribera said, adding: “We will defend the way we implement our rules, we will defend a well functioning market and we will not allow anyone to tell us what to do.”
Surprisingly, the survey results also show that the survey participants believed Big Tech holds more power than the EU itself.
Half of French respondents (50%), 48% in Germany, and a majority in Spain (55%) believe that Big Tech companies are “more powerful” or “slightly more powerful” than the EU. In contrast, only 9% in France, 12% in Germany, and 15% in Spain think tech giants are “slightly less powerful” or “much less powerful.”
The survey was conducted on a sample of 2,070 respondents in France, 2,323 in Germany, and 2,077 in Spain.
