Google, Twitter, Meta, Apple Face Tougher EU Online Content Rules

The logo of Google internet giant is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (AFP)
The logo of Google internet giant is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (AFP)
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Google, Twitter, Meta, Apple Face Tougher EU Online Content Rules

The logo of Google internet giant is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (AFP)
The logo of Google internet giant is seen on the opening day of the Integrated Systems Europe (ISE) audiovisual and systems integration exhibition in Barcelona on January 31, 2023. (AFP)

Alphabet Inc's Google, Facebook parent Meta Platforms Inc, Twitter and Apple face stricter EU online content rules, based on monthly user numbers published by the companies, which exceeded an EU threshold for big online platforms.

The new rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) label companies with more than 45 million users as very large online platforms and subject to obligations such as risk management and external and independent auditing. They are also required to share data with authorities and researchers and adopt a code of conduct.

The European Commission had given online platforms and search engines until Feb. 17 to publish their monthly active users. Very large online platforms have four months to comply with the rules or risk fines.

Twitter said it has 100.9 million average monthly users in the EU, based on an estimation of the last 45 days.

Alphabet provided one set of numbers based on users' accounts and another set based on signed-out recipients, saying users can access its services whether they sign in to an account or are signed out.

It said the average monthly number of signed-in users totaled 278.6 million at Google Maps, 274.6 million at Google Play, 332 million at Google Search, 74.9 million at Shopping and 401.7 million at YouTube.

Apple said only its App Store built for its iPhones, with more than 45 million monthly users, qualifies as a very large online platform. But it will also apply the same rules to the App Store for iPads, Mac computers, Apple Watch and TV.

"Apple intends, on an entirely voluntary basis, to align each of the existing versions of the App Store (including those that do not currently meet the VLOP designation threshold) with the existing DSA requirements for VLOPs because the goals of the DSA align with Apple’s goals to protect consumers from illegal content," it said in a statement.

EBay said it is below the EU user threshold.

Earlier this week, Meta Platforms said it had 255 million average monthly active users on Facebook in the EU and about 250 million average monthly active users on Instagram in the last six months of 2022.



Nvidia’s Market Value Tops $4 Trillion

Nvidia logo is seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Nvidia logo is seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
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Nvidia’s Market Value Tops $4 Trillion

Nvidia logo is seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)
Nvidia logo is seen in this illustration created on January 27, 2025. (Reuters)

Nvidia's stock market value ended the trading session above $4 trillion for the first time on Thursday, solidifying the chipmaker's position as Wall Street's central player in a race to dominate AI technology.

Shares of Nvidia ended up 0.75% at $164.10, giving it a market value of $4.004 trillion and extending its lead over Apple and Microsoft as it benefits from a surge in demand for artificial-intelligence technologies.

Nvidia's stock market value briefly peaked above $4 trillion on Wednesday before closing at about $3.97 trillion. It is worth more than the combined value of all publicly listed companies in the UK.

Nvidia's high-end processors are at the center of a race between Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta Platforms and other Wall Street heavyweights to build AI data centers and dominate the emerging technology.

Nvidia is also exposed to conflict between Washington and Beijing over trade, including restrictions on exports to China of its most powerful chips.

"Trade tensions and tariffs are a risk, as is competition. Greater AI adoption could shift part of the demand toward cheaper alternatives," Swissquote Bank senior analyst Ipek Ozkardeskaya wrote in a client note.

Nvidia achieved a $1 trillion market value for the first time in June 2023 and tripled it in about a year, faster than Apple and Microsoft, the only other US firms with market values above $3 trillion.

Microsoft is the second most valuable US company, with a market capitalization of $3.73 trillion. Its shares dipped 0.4% on Thursday.

Apple's stock has tumbled 15% so far in 2025, leaving its market value at $3.17 trillion, reflecting investor worries that the iPhone maker has been slow to introduce AI into its products and services.

Even after its meteoric rally, Nvidia's stock is valued at about 33 times expected earnings, below its five-year average of 41, according to LSEG.