"Dominant online platforms have more power to shape public opinion than newspapers or the television ever had, yet they face very little regulation or liability,” Rometty said. "On liability, new thinking is needed."
Rometty called on the European Union to change laws that have previously handed web platforms immunity from what appears on their sites. The EU’s so-called e-commerce directive from 2000 was designed to boost innovation among young firms. The bloc has since introduced targeted measures giving tech companies liability over specific content, like ordering them to remove terror propaganda within one hour, but it’s yet to formally change the law.
Brussels has become eponymous in the tech world with tough digital rules, such as the EU’s strict GDPR privacy regulation, which came into force earlier this year.
Like Rometty, Cook also made his comments at an event in Brussels attended by top EU officials.
This article provided by Bloomberg News.