A new set of rules, expected to be unveiled by European Union officials, is likely to put new pressure on American tech companies. Proposals would force some of the world’s largest tech companies to comply with stringent competition, privacy and copyright rules.
For many executives from American tech companies such plans feel like another round of protectionism. While Europe’s policy makers balk at these claims, the fact that big US tech companies like Google, Facebook and Microsoft will be the most affected by the new EU rules has again highlighted how much Europeans rely on American tech when using digital services in their daily lives.
With things like claim against Apple for unpaid taxes and a series of antitrust charges against Google, the European Union has become a thorn in the side of many of the world’s largest companies, requiring them either to alter how they offer online services worldwide or fight protracted legal battles to fend off the EU‘s regulators.
The latest digital reforms take aim at that dominance, and potentially give European publishers and telecom companies a helping hand to compete head-on with their American rivals.