Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton, responsible for digital regulation, rescheduled the call from Nov. 24 because of an institutional engagement, the official said.

The call is to discuss proposed rules known as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) which Breton is scheduled to present on Dec. 9 together with European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager.

About 20 companies, which include Microsoft, Booking.com, Expedia, Trivago and DuckDuckGo have been invited on to the call.

The draft rules have been the subject of intense lobbying by tech companies and online platforms who argue regulators should use existing rules before coming up with new ones and that the tough regulatory approach may hurt innovation.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; editing by Jason Neely)