While China ruthlessly brings big tech into line, the US looks increasingly hesitant

Efforts to regulate the world’s technology giants are revealing the enormous differences between Beijing and Washington’s respective approaches. Both positions are very clear: there is a need for more regulation to avoid monopoly abuses, and in both cases guidelines have been set to strengthen this framework.

There, the similarities end. In the United States, the Biden administration has dedicated itself to placing intellectuals, experts and academics in antitrust legislation in strategic posts, prompting Amazon and Facebook to demand their recusal — it seems that a professional life dedicated to the rigorous study of a given subject merely means bias — and Joe Biden’s statements, when they point to a specific company, are quickly and carefully nuanced. But in Beijing, the approach is radically different.

Xi Jinping’s administration acts with an iron fist, demanding absolute obedience, and is not concerned about turning on companies it once bragged about in international forums. After refusing to postpone its IPO in the United States, despite Beijing’s “suggestions” ride hailing giant Didi now faces an unprecedented fine, in addition to the obvious problem that the company has been unable to incorporate new users since July 4, as its app is excluded from China’s download…