The tech companies challenged the law in an Austrian Court, saying that it is contrary to an EU Rule that says online service providers are only subject to the rules of the country where they are established. They also said that the countries where they provide a service must refrain from applying their laws.

The European Union (EU) adopted new rules called the Digital Services Act (DSA), according to which large online platforms must do more to tackle illegal and harmful online content or risk fines of up to 6% of their annual turnover.

The three companies have their European headquarters in Ireland and argued that they should only be subject to Irish rules. The Austrian court subsequently sought advice from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which sided with the companies, news agency Reuters reported.

“A member state may not subject a communication platform provider established in another member state to general and abstract obligation,” judges said.

“Such a national approach is contrary to EU law, which ensures the free movement of information society services through the principle of control in the Member State of origin of the service concerned,” they added.

What Google has to say:

Google welcomed the ruling, saying that it will continue to invest in the trust and safety of its products.

“We are pleased with today’s decision, which reaffirms the importance of the EU’s country of origin principle. We will study the judgment and continue to invest in the trust and safety of our users across our platforms,” a Google spokesperson was quoted as saying.