From sending warning letters to the heads of the world's biggest platforms to sparring on social media with the billionaire boss of X, Elon Musk, Breton appears to be enjoying his new status as the EU's man taking on the giants.
With his distinctive, salt and pepper mane and his eyes framed by thick black glasses, the Frenchman's star is in the ascendant as the EU's powerful legal weaponry against tech titans comes into force.
Breton, 68, is the EU internal market commissioner, a role he has held since 2019, and his portfolio includes digital and industry issues.
He has been in the spotlight in recent weeks after the launch of the first investigations under a new EU law into X (formerly Twitter), Facebook owner Meta and TikTok over the spread of false information and hate speech following the Hamas-Israel conflict.
He has also been at the forefront of the push to ramp up arms production in Europe following Russia's invasion of Ukraine last year.
A former CEO of French tech and telecom firms, Breton was the first major business leader to arrive in the cosy world of the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, and has since become very media savvy.
He wants to be seen as a disrupter who can effect change.
He frequently gives interviews to media and has mastered the art of a quick quip on social media, even going head-to-head with Musk.
- Waving chips -
The media success of Breton has confounded some since he is not as eloquent an orator as some other top officials in Paris and Brussels.
He is at times mocked for the length of his speeches and for the multiple ideas he introduces all at once in a disorderly fashion.
But Breton is in his element when he talks about digital issues and industry, after serving for several years as the head of several large French companies including France Telecom -- now Orange -- and Atos.
An engineer by training, the commissioner once had a wafer of semiconductor material in his hand as he launched into a long, technical explanation of electronic chips.
Breton, however, did not have a smooth path into the commission.
The former French finance minister was actually French President Emmanuel Macron's second choice after a scandal surrounding his first.
Now, he has the ear of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
The EU's landmark laws taking on mainly US-based web giants, the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA), are one of Breton's biggest achievements.
The rules will demand better policing of content online and they will curb the market powers of companies, like Amazon, Apple, Google, Meta and Microsoft.
"It's time to put some order in the digital 'Wild West'", he said in 2022.
Last year Breton went to see Musk in Texas to explain the rules that he would have to follow under the DSA. They were all smiles in a video that went viral. "We are very much on the same page," Musk said.
- Wily figure -
Breton, a former professor of corporate governance at Harvard University and author of several science fiction novels, wants a more sovereign Europe to better defend its interests against challenges from China and the United States.
His thinking is often in line with the French government, although he frequently insists he speaks for Europe and not just Paris.
Breton is a wily figure who knows how to make himself indispensable.
During the coronavirus pandemic, when the United States and Britain had successful deliveries of vaccines in 2021, the EU had fallen behind.
Von der Leyen appointed Breton to lead a task force to fix the situation, and his knowledge of the world of business came in handy.
With factory visits and frequent dialogue with pharma bosses, he faced down the Americans who blocked key components by threatening retaliation.
All of this manoeuvring and media spotlight has left many wondering, does he want the top job at the commission?
Breton, for once, is coy.
"All my life, I have been told of my next potential position 15 minutes before," he said recently. "I might consider a new mission, if I am a plan B again."
What to know about the EU's landmark digital content act
Brussels (AFP) Oct 19, 2023 -
The EU's milestone legislation, known as the Digital Services Act, demands digital giants crack down on illegal and problematic content.
Brussels is baring its teeth, launching investigations into X, formerly Twitter, as well as Facebook parent Meta and TikTok following Hamas' assault on Israel on October 7 and its aftermath.
The DSA is a mammoth law that will force digital giants to aggressively police content online in the European Union and could see them hit with major fines.
Here are the regulation's key elements:
- Rules for all platforms -
The law kicks in for all platforms from February 17, 2024, but since August it already applies for very large platforms with more than 45 million active monthly users.
Among their obligations, all platforms must quickly remove illegal content or make access to it impossible as soon as they are aware of the issue.
The companies must also rapidly inform the authorities when they suspect a criminal offence that threatens people's lives or the safety of others.
Every year the platform must publish a report that provides details about actions taken on content moderation and how long they took to respond after notification of illegal content. They will also report on the decisions taken in disputes with users.
The law also tells platforms to suspend users who frequently share illegal content such as hate speech or fake ads, while online shopping sites must verify the identities of users and block repeat fraudsters.
There are also tougher rules on targeted advertising, with a ban on such ads for children aged 17 and under.
The EU also wants users to see how their data is used. The law bans targeted advertising based on sensitive data, such as ethnicity, religion or sexual orientation.
The law does not apply to very small companies.
- Extra rules for large platforms -
The EU has named 19 "very large" platforms including Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Microsoft, Snapchat, TikTok and clothing retailer Zalando.
Amazon and Zalando have launched legal challenges to their designations.
These large platforms must assess the risks linked to their services with regards to the spread of illegal content and privacy infringements.
And they must also set up structures internally to mitigate such risks, such as improved content moderation.
The platforms must also give regulators' access to their data so officials can see whether they are complying with the rules.
This access will also be shared with approved researchers.
They will be audited once a year by independent organisations -- at their own expense -- to ensure compliance, and also establish an independent internal supervisor that will keep an eye on whether the platforms are in line with the rules.
- EU, national coordination -
Under the law, the EU's 27 member states must assign a competent authority that has the powers to investigate and sanction any violation.
These authorities must work with each other and with the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, to enforce the regulation from February.
If a digital platform provider is located in one member state, that country must enforce the rules except for very large platforms which will come under the commission's supervision.
- Complaints, penalties -
The DSA wants to make it easier for users' complaints to be heard.
Users will be able to lodge a complaint claiming a platform is in violation of the DSA with their competent national authority.
Online shopping sites may be held responsible for any damage from products bought by users that are non-compliant or dangerous.
Violations can be met with fines that could go up to six percent of a company's global turnover, and for repeated non-compliance, the EU can even decide to ban offending platforms from Europe.
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