European officials announced a new set of rules aimed at regulating how the 500 million people in the region buy, access and consume online services from video streaming to messaging applications

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The region’s policymakers hope the proposals — which would come into force next year, at the earliest — will help bolster the region’s sluggish economy. But technology companies, particularly video streaming services like Netflix, fear they will soon be forced not only to carry more local content in individual countries but also to help pay for its development. These companies argue that they already promote and produce such content to attract different customers, and putting in place tough regulations could hurt consumer choice. Others, including Facebook, might also soon face greater scrutiny over how some of their digital products, including WhatsApp, one of the company’s messaging services, are used across the 28-member bloc. And despite assurances from the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, that the proposals would apply to all companies, Silicon Valley giants like Facebook, Netflix and Apple still dominate much of the online world that Europeans have come to rely on. These companies, at least in the short term, would most likely be the most affected by European efforts to regulate Internet services.