EU’s Internet Rules Don’t Discriminate Against US, Says Digital Chief

The European Union has no intention of discriminating against US technology giants like Google and Facebook when designing its regulatory framework for online platforms, the EU’s digital chief said.

“I’m still certain that we’ll find rules [for platforms] that don’t smell of protection and discrimination, but are reasonable for European, American and for Asian players,” Günther Oettinger, the EU commissioner in charge of digital affairs, said in a telephone interview ahead of a trip to the US that kicks off Sept 22. There, in meetings with Silicon Valley executives—including Facebook operating chief Sheryl Sandberg and Google’s new chief executive, Sundar Pichai—as well as government officials in Washington, Oettinger will try to dispel concerns that coming legislative proposals are being designed to disadvantage American companies.