European tech industry calls for delay to new regulation
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A group representing Europe’s thriving tech industry has called for a moratorium on looming new regulation until a review has been carried out into the impact of the changes.
The EU will next month table new laws designed to prevent tech companies from unfairly promoting their own products and services and holding firms more accountable for policing content on their platform.
But the Digital Future for Europe coalition, which represents more than 100 think tanks, startups and small tech firms, today called for the plans to be put on hold.
It urged the European Commission to halt the process until a body such as the European Innovation Council (EIC) had completed a review of policy and made recommendations on how to stimulate innovation and improve regulation.
“Europe’s tech sector is dependent on a culture of innovation and the future regulatory environment needs to support this vision,” it said.
“With potentially heavy-handed regulations being considered for AI and other areas, it is appropriate for the Commission and national governments to place a pause on the new regulations and focus on empowering start-ups to lead the post-Covid-19 recovery.”
Digital Future for Europe outlined a series of recommendations that it said would allow the tech sector to flourish post-Covid, including calls for an expanded fund to support projects working on pandemic resilience.
The campaign group said the tech sector had played a key role during the pandemic, both through scientific progress and economic solutions to lockdown measures. It called for the EIC’s fund size to be expanded beyond its current level of €314m.
“The most resilient sector coming out of this crisis is tech, but the crucial thing is how tech has enabled so many other sectors to become more resilient,” said Joel Gladwin, head of policy at The Coalition for a Digital Economy.
“It’s obvious that the more a government does to protect start-ups and scaleups, the more they will enable a tech-powered recovery for the entire economy.”
Other recommendations in the report included calls for governments to explore digital adoption funds, collaboration on digital IDs and mutual recognition of startup visas.