BRUSSELS, Oct 3 (Reuters) - EU lawmakers on Tuesday voted for draft rules targeting Alphabet's Google (GOOGL.O), Meta Platforms (META.O) and other large online platforms' content moderation restrictions after some media outlets complained about arbitrary decisions removing their content. The draft rules require online platforms to carry news content for 24 hours before taking it down if this breaches their content moderation rules. Known as Article 17 of the Media Freedom Act the European Commission proposed last year to ensure media plurality and safeguard editorial independence, the clause has raised alarm bells among online platforms. Media should "be notified of the platform's intention to delete or restrict their content alongside a 24-hour window for the media to respond", lawmakers said in a statement. Lawmakers voted to ban using spyware against journalists unless it can be justified as a last resort measure and also require media to be transparent about their ownership.

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Persons: CCIA, Mathilde Adjutor, Foo Yun Chee, Josie Kao Organizations: Google, Media, European Commission, Tech, European, Thomson Locations: BRUSSELS, Europe, Poland