Hazardous territory: why Europe must establish digital independence

The last few decades have seen the United States and Big Tech steadily undermine international competition frameworks. Hopefully, the EU’s recent efforts to counter the impact of this malign influence on the rest of the planet mark a turning point whereby it establishes its own regulatory and cultural environment, breaking with the regime being created by Donald Trump and his America First policies. Let’s not delude ourselves; when a US president says “America First”, what they’re really saying is “I couldn’t care less about the rest of the world”.

It’s now clearer than ever that America First is simply a cover for protectionism, abuse of power and violations of the basic rules of free competition. Under the umbrella of American exceptionalism, US businesses — particularly technology companies — have been allowed to grow unconstrained, while Washington has not hesitated to pull diplomatic strings whenever its interests (or those of its multinationals) have been threatened.

The absence of self-criticism on the other side of the Atlantic about its protectionism speaks volumes. Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon and Apple have all faced accusations of anti-competitive practices, not by hostile governments, but EU regulators trying to create a level playing field.