BRUSSELS, Belgium: Europe's biggest technology companies are set to avoid more onerous, binding obligations under the European Union's forthcoming overhaul of its digital regulations, even as telecom operators had pressed Brussels to rein them in, people with direct knowledge of the matter said.

Under the planned revamp, firms including Google, Meta Platforms, Netflix, Microsoft, and Amazon will not face new, heavy-handed regulatory requirements, despite sustained lobbying from European telecoms companies, the sources said.

EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen is due to present the proposal known as the Digital Networks Act (DNA) on January 20. The initiative aims to strengthen Europe's competitiveness and encourage investment in telecoms infrastructure. The European Commission declined to comment.

The plan still needs to be negotiated with EU member states and the European Parliament in the coming months before it can become law.

Voluntary, not Binding

According to the sources, large technology platforms will be covered only by a voluntary framework, rather than the binding rules that telecom operators must comply with.

"They will be asked to cooperate and discuss voluntarily, moderated by the EU telecoms regulators' group BEREC. There will be no new obligations. It will be a best practices regime," one of the people said.

The EU has introduced a series of new technology laws in recent years, drawing criticism from Washington, which argues that Brussels is unfairly targeting U.S. tech giants. EU officials have consistently rejected those claims.

Spectrum and Infrastructure Changes

Beyond the treatment of Big Tech, the draft Digital Networks Act is expected to address longstanding telecom industry concerns around spectrum policy. The Commission plans to set out guidance on the duration of spectrum licences, conditions for spectrum sales, and a pricing methodology to steer national regulators when auctioning spectrum, sales that can generate billions of euros for governments, the sources said.

The proposals are intended to harmonise spectrum allocation across the 27-country bloc and reduce regulatory fragmentation that telecom operators say hampers investment. However, some national regulators may view the changes as an encroachment on their authority.

The revamp will also see the Commission issue guidance to national regulators on the rollout of fibre networks, which Brussels considers critical to meeting its digital targets and narrowing the gap with the United States and China.

In addition, governments may be allowed to extend the EU's 2030 deadline for replacing copper networks with fibre infrastructure, provided they can demonstrate they are not ready to meet the target, the sources said.

While telecoms companies had hoped the Digital Networks Act would impose stronger obligations on Big Tech, particularly around infrastructure funding, the current draft suggests Brussels is prioritising cooperation over confrontation as it seeks to balance investment, competitiveness, and political sensitivities.