- Finnish lawmaker Henna Virkkunen was instrumental on DSA
- Virkkunen emphasized importance of European competitiveness
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By Gian Volpicelli, Samuel Stolton, and Kati Pohjanpalo
September 17, 2024 at 22:42 GMT+7
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The European Union’s proposed new digital chief is a veteran Finnish lawmaker who was central in crafting rules reining in Big Tech and will be a marked contrast to her more flamboyant predecessor, who resigned in protest a day earlier.
Henna Virkkunen, 52, has been tapped for the role of executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy. If confirmed, she’d be in charge of enforcing the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act, two rulebooks put in place to monitor how large tech companies control content and their impact on competition. She’ll also be responsible for fostering new European tech champions.
She’s seen as a departure from Thierry Breton, an outspoken politician who oversaw the creation of the DSA and frequently clashed with other commissioners and the tech companies they regulated. In the newly formulated digital role, she’s expected to prioritize the global competitiveness of the EU as a whole as opposed to shoring up select countries, according to Chris Glueck, managing director of political intelligence service Forefront Advisers.
Read More: The Man Keeping Musk, Zuckerberg and Big Tech in Line in Europe
“Virkkunen is a well-respected and no-nonsense member of the European Parliament who has worked for many years on industrial and economic policy and is often admired for her mastery of her policy brief,” Glueck said. “There couldn’t have been a bigger change in style from the flamboyant Thierry Breton to the down-to-earth Finn.”
Virkkunen will also oversee the conclusion of ongoing cases the commission started against Elon Musk’s X and Meta Platforms Inc. for potential breaches of the DSA — which could result in fines of as much as 6% of their annual global sales. The commission is also weighing whether messaging platform Telegram should be subjected to stricter rules under the act, as the service faces closer scrutiny following the arrest of its Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov in France.
Read More: Musk’s X Risks Fine as EU Steps Up Crackdown on Big Tech
She’ll operate alongside Teresa Ribera, the commission’s prospective competition czar. In addition to sharing DMA enforcement duties with Virkkunen, Ribera will wield control over dealmaking and a number of outstanding cases against Big Tech under the bloc’s antitrust rules, including probes into Google’s ad tech arm, Apple Inc.’s App Store, and Microsoft Corp.’s Teams software.
On digital competitiveness, Virkkunen is also set to work with France’s Stephane Sejourne, the commission’s industry boss.
They’ll be part of the new class of commissioners who will have to decide how to act on the digital competitiveness agenda that former European Central Bank President Mario Draghi set out in a long-awaited report earlier this month. The Draghi report, timed for the start of the new European Parliament, places the continent at a crossroads and called for it to do more to support companies to boost growth and remain competitive.
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They’ll also have to decide how aggressively to go after large US tech companies operating in Europe, which are chafing at the strict rules. Companies including Apple and Meta Platforms Inc., stung by regulations on the continent, have delayed new product launches citing the bloc’s rules. Sam Altman, OpenAI’s chief executive officer, once threatened to leave Europe if the regulatory regime there became unworkable before later walking back his remarks.
Read More: Meta, Apple Protest Europe Tech Rules by Holding Back AI Tools
Center-right Virkkunen, who has served as Finland’s minister of education and minister of public administration, has spent a decade in the European Parliament building a track record as a digitally savvy policymaker.
As a member of the influential industry, research and energy committee, she worked on several tech and cybersecurity rulebooks, including the DSA – the EU’s attempt to hem in online platforms with strict rules on content moderation and disinformation. In April, she said that the incoming commission should have competitiveness as “a key priority”, and stressed the need for Europe to invest in digital and cyber skills in a column for the Parliament magazine.
Virkkunen’s new role will also include setting up an AI research council, ensuring investment in key technologies including semiconductors and quantum computing and boosting Europe’s digital infrastructure, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an open letter on Tuesday.
Breton prematurely concluded his mandate Monday and criticized von der Leyen’s leadership, saying that she wanted a different candidate. For sure, Virkkunen has one thing in common with her future boss: they both love horse riding. In fact, the Finn is a member of the European parliament’s Horse Group, which works to improve the equine industry across party and committee lines.
— With assistance from Ewa Krukowska and Peter Chapman