Airbnb joins calls for a new EU authority on technology

Internet companies seek to avoid regulatory patchwork across individual States.

Airbnb joins calls for a new EU authority on technology

Airbnb has joined calls for a new EU body to manage global technology companies, as the bloc debates how to regulate illegal and harmful content on their platforms.

 On 29th Jan 2020, EU commissioners and 18 city councils, the home-sharing platform supported calls for a single European oversight body for digital services to oversee consistent regulation of multinational tech platforms across Europe.

Tech corporations privately allow that they will be subject to more strict regulation around liability and tax in Europe, but have been actively promoting to ensure that the legislation put in place comes from one centralized EU office rather than individual states.

The public call from Airbnb tracks earlier concerns over potential changes in Brussels that would make Big Tech legally accountable for all the content on their platforms ahead of a major overhaul on the rules governing the internet.

According to Lehane, Airbnb’s senior vice-president of global policy, the regulation is prime important. The major challenges in the world nowadays are related to the fact that there is often mismanagement between the global tech platforms that operate at a speed and scope.

Brussels-based Edima, an organization of which Airbnb is a member, warned EU commissioners that making companies accountable would lead to penalties for companies that tried, proactively, to expose illegal material.

The lobbying group, which also represents Google, Facebook, and Twitter, has also accepted a new body's ability to monitor their compliance. Mr. Lehane added that the regulations should be tailored to each sector, distinguishing Airbnb from its peers in social media.

An oversight body should establish a consistent registration process for people looking to rent out homes on a short-term basis as well as provide a framework for EU cities to regulate home rentals, he said. Airbnb also intends to make data about home sharing available to city authorities via an independent third party.

Airbnb won a key ruling at the European Court of Justice in December 2019, which allowed it to avoid the onerous rules imposed on EU property agents. The event followed a French tourism association attempt to introduce tougher rules on Airbnb.

Brussels regulators have been debating an overhaul of the internet rules of the bloc for years because the current rule book dates back 20 years--long before any of today’s dominant players had any relevance.

Regulators are still debating whether to change the liability rules against the will of platforms as they face growing public pressure to force tech giants to face greater scrutiny of how they are policing content.

In October, Airbnb, whose initial public offering is expected this year, came under pressure following a shooting at a house rented using the Airbnb platform in Orinda, California. It has since barred party houses and said that Airbnb will invest $150m in beefing up its safety protocols. According to Mr. Lehane, the company has started monitoring social media and aggressively communicating its trust and safety policies to hosts. Airbnb has also committed to verify all of its listings of more than 7 m by the end of 2020.