Pay-TV company Sky has called on European regulators to crack down on tax avoidance by US technology companies, reports The Telegraph. Speaking in Estonia, CEO Jeremy Darroch said it was no longer good enough to say that the internet was beyond the standards the rest of society has to follow.
He said that US tech businesses like Google and Facebook were allowed to operate online without accountability, regulation or transparency. He insisted that businesses operating on the internet should be forced to pay tax, adding that it was unfair that businesses obeying the law and paying their taxes were at a competitive disadvantage.
Darroch also attacked the online companies for not taking action against harmful online content such as fake news and extremist propaganda. He expressed concern that online ads for Sky’s family brand were appearing against illegal content online. He also accused them of acting as ‘safe havens’ for illegal content streams.