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File photo of the Meta logo on a smartphone in front of the logos of Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Oculus. | Photo credit: Reuters
Facebook owner Meta is urging UK lawmakers considering legislation to repeal all retained EU laws by 2024 to keep some e-commerce rules to keep Britain globally competitive.
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The UK government introduced legislation in September to amend, repeal or replace all EU laws automatically maintained after Brexit by the end of next year.
“The Brexit Freedoms Bill will enable the UK government to ditch years of burdensome EU regulation in favor of a more nimble, domestic regulatory approach that benefits people and businesses across the UK,” he said at the time.
In a newly released letter to the committee of MPs scrutinizing the bill, the US tech giant said it wanted to “draw attention to one key area of retained EU law that we believe could be affected”.
The California-based company, which has around 4,000 full-time staff in Britain, noted that the 2002 electronic commerce rules based on an EU directive limit the liability of online platforms “which act only as a conduit”.
“This framework… is critical to maintaining an online environment that enables a rich and diverse technology sector to thrive in the UK,” Meta said.
It warned that without it, “platforms and websites are less likely to want to operate in the UK and may back away from the government’s vision of making the UK a hub for innovative new products and services”.
Metta argued that the provisions “should either be expressly retained elsewhere or recommend that the e-commerce regs be removed from the scope of the repeal bill”.
The draft law is currently working its way through Parliament.
Many public and private interest groups and organizations have provoked a backlash in Britain, accusing the government of moving too quickly.
Trade unions are among those opposing the bill, with one leading organization warning in a second letter to the committee published on Friday that it “poses a significant threat to workers’ rights and should be opposed by MPs”.
“It is surprising that ministers have not yet explained which laws they intend to retain, amend or allow to expire,” the Trade Union Congress said.
“Indeed, there remains uncertainty as to whether the government knows which laws are affected,” he argues, adding that “the ultimate goal is deregulation”.
Meanwhile TheCityUK, one of London’s leading financial lobby groups, said it had “a number of reservations about the appropriateness of this bill in the current circumstances”.
The organization cited “its overall need, the opportunity cost, the risk of deteriorating relations with the EU and the potential for increased burden on business”.
“At the very least, a longer sunset period should be allowed for implementation,” it added.
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