Dive Brief:

• The EU on Thursday launched an inquiry into the behavior of several U.S.-based online and social media companies.
• The EU reportedly wants to gauge whether there is a need to regulate the web.
• Google, Facebook and Amazon are among those being evaluated for issues such as privacy practices and taxation.

Dive Insight:

Experts say the EU wants to evaluate whether U.S. tech companies are using acceptable privacy and copyright policies and parity clauses, among other things.

"Platforms are part of a thriving digital economy but questions are also raised about their transparency and use of content," said European Commission Vice President Andrus Ansip, who is in charge of digital issues. 

U.S. companies are concerned about any action the EU might take to regulate the web. James Waterworth, Europe Vice President of the Computer and Communications Industry Association, which represents companies such as Google, Amazon and Microsoft, said "If there are problems, someone will need to be more precise about what exactly they are and why they can’t be dealt with under existing law such as competition, consumer and privacy law.”

This is the second blow for U.S. tech companies operating in the EU this week. On Wednesday, An adviser to the European Union's top court says the Safe Harbour agreement is invalid. If the court agrees, data transfers to third countries could be suspended. That would cause significant disruption for U.S. companies that operate in the EU. The Safe Harbour agreement helps U.S. companies navigate cumbersome checks to transfer data, such as payroll and human resources information.