MEPs wonder if Big Tech CEOs will answer their invite The European Parliament’s hearing invite has yet to receive an RSVP

by Leonie Cater, Clothilde Goujard

After Big Tech CEOs testified before U.S. congress on Thursday, MEPs had to settle for C-SPAN once again.

European lawmakers are itching to get their hands on these CEOs themselves, but the companies are yet to confirm whether their leaders would attend a hearing with the European Parliament. The likes of Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai owe them nothing — unlike the U.S, it’s not within the EU’s legal remit to compel companies to answer questions.

Without a proper response, pencilling in a date has been awkward. An original attempt in February has since been pushed back. The economic affairs committee (ECON) charged with organizing the hearing said it was “willing to consider rescheduling and looking into alternative dates later than the originally planned date.” It proposed March or April — more a punt than a plan.

The Parliament did not confirm a new date.

Snubbed

French MEP Stéphanie Yon-Courtin, a Renew Europe lawmaker and ECON vice chair who first proposed the idea last summer, had hoped for a different outcome.  

“I wish the European Parliament could hold the same kind of hearings as the U.S. Congress,” she said via email of Thursday’s hearing. “Some companies have such a big role over our economy, our society and our lives — they know everything about us, and we know so little about them.”

“I don’t understand why accountability would matter more in the U.S. than in Europe, with its 460 million citizens,” she added.

The bloc is currently working on major pieces of regulation that could upend the tech industry. The Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) would impose new limits and obligations on how online platforms police content and interact with their business users.

Yon-Courtin added that Thursday’s hearing, in which lawmakers grilled the executives on their platforms’ content moderation practices, shows Europe is “moving in the right direction” with the DSA.

Lowering expectations

As pressure ramps up on both sides of the Atlantic to act fast on disinformation and hate speech online, other policymakers are keen to get a move on — with or without CEOs’ participation. “My understanding is that the debate is around the participation of the CEOs, which is creating delays,” said industry committee chair Cristian-Silviu Buşoi (Romanian, EPP.) 

“I personally believe that as members of the Parliament we should privilege expertise beyond title — that’s what a hearing is about.” 

DMA rapporteur Andreas Schwab (German, EPP) said he was in favor of an “open and public exchange” with other European or American stakeholders beyond big tech companies.“If a public hearing has not taken place here in the EP yet it does not mean that it will not happen in the future,” he added.

Leah Nylen, Cristiano Lima and Mark Scott contributed reporting.