Europe is poised to dismantle the dominance of Big Tech empires with the implementation of a new EU law. This legislation aims to level the playing field, fostering competition and expanding user choice in the digital realm.
Within the European Union, citizens find themselves entrenched in an internet landscape largely shaped and governed by foreign entities. The ubiquitous presence of American search engines, e-commerce platforms, smartphones, and social media networks has raised concerns within Brussels about the profound influence of these companies on the EU economy. This unease has been further fueled by scholarly works like Shoshana Zuboff's "The Age of Surveillance Capitalism," which resonated deeply with lawmakers, coinciding with the rollout of the GDPR privacy law five years ago.
Now, as the EU prepares to enforce another landmark piece of legislation, the Digital Markets Act, effective from March 7th, companies are under pressure to comply with its provisions. Yanis Varoufakis, in his 2023 publication "Technofeudalism," draws striking parallels between the power dynamics of medieval feudalism and the relationship between big US tech platforms and European users. This narrative of digital subjugation finds resonance across Europe, echoed in works such as "Cloud Empires" and "Digital Empires."
For years, European tech contenders like Spotify and ProtonMail have voiced grievances against giants like Google, Meta, and Apple, citing unfair practices that stifle competition and limit their market access. Sandra Wachter, a professor at Oxford University's Internet Institute, underscores the concern: monopolies aren't inherently problematic, but when they impede market entry for others, they become a cause for alarm.
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