Upsetting... but surely not surprising? Europe and the previous administration were making existential threats, and the new guy offered to either pile on or make it all go away... for a price.
* Facebook was offered the option of either cutting their EU profits to zero or facing equivalent fines.
* Very Serious People were having Very Serious Discussions about whether Google should be allowed to run auctions for ad space on their own home page. At the same time, the two sides of the Atlantic cannot agree whether to make the web a Chrome monopoly or to only allow Google offer its services through 3rd party platforms controlled by competitors.
* Apple's whole brand proposition is being actively undermined. Apparently their monopolistic 30% market share does not demonstrate that consumers want a choice of something different from the competition (and legislators know consumers better than they do themselves).
* Amazon is somehow subject to expensive-to-comply-with restrictions, yet none of their similar-size in-market competitors are. Because reasons.
Surely it was predictable that they would all support a politician who offers to deliver them from regulations that not just limit profit but actively erode ongoing viability of the business, no? I guess you could call it the "Brussels effect".
None of these are "existential" threats, just relatively minor inconveniences for companies their size. And it's not like regulation will go away in the EU just because Trump comes to power. In fact, given that the administration seems actively hostile towards European democracy, I suspect EU countries will want to assert their sovereignty by bringing down the regulatory hammer.
Comments
Upsetting... but surely not surprising? Europe and the previous administration were making existential threats, and the new guy offered to either pile on or make it all go away... for a price.
* Facebook was offered the option of either cutting their EU profits to zero or facing equivalent fines.
* Very Serious People were having Very Serious Discussions about whether Google should be allowed to run auctions for ad space on their own home page. At the same time, the two sides of the Atlantic cannot agree whether to make the web a Chrome monopoly or to only allow Google offer its services through 3rd party platforms controlled by competitors.
* Apple's whole brand proposition is being actively undermined. Apparently their monopolistic 30% market share does not demonstrate that consumers want a choice of something different from the competition (and legislators know consumers better than they do themselves).
* Amazon is somehow subject to expensive-to-comply-with restrictions, yet none of their similar-size in-market competitors are. Because reasons.
Surely it was predictable that they would all support a politician who offers to deliver them from regulations that not just limit profit but actively erode ongoing viability of the business, no? I guess you could call it the "Brussels effect".
None of these are "existential" threats, just relatively minor inconveniences for companies their size. And it's not like regulation will go away in the EU just because Trump comes to power. In fact, given that the administration seems actively hostile towards European democracy, I suspect EU countries will want to assert their sovereignty by bringing down the regulatory hammer.