Can the EU set a global rulebook for Big Tech? by Zach Meyers
The EU is angling to set a rulebook for digital markets which could be adopted around the world. To achieve this, its draft regulations need improvement. The EU has a renowned ability to leverage its market size in order to influence regulatory standards beyond its borders – the so-called Brussels effect. For example, the US is now closer than ever to adopting a comprehensive federal privacy law, demonstrating the global influence of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation. The EU now wants to set global standards for digital platforms such as Facebook and Google, to make the markets they operate in fairer and more contestable. Digital markets may well be susceptible to the Brussels effect: many countries are considering new regulations, and the large technology firms that operate globally do not want regulatory fragmentation. But the Union’s attempt to develop and export its digital rulebook will require refinement if it is to succeed. Previous EU antitrust cases against American tech giants and its proposals for regulation caused transatlantic tension. The Obama administration viewed large American tech firms as national champions. President Trump was also critical of the EU’s attempts to discipline them: “Your tax lady, she hates the US”, he said of competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager. However, the academic and political consensus in the US has now shifted towards the European position. In 2019, an influential report by the US’s Stigler Centre confirmed many of the EU’s concerns. Since then, large technology firms have alienated
both sides of US politics. Many Republicans were outraged by President Trump’s ban from Twitter and Facebook; many Democrats believe that digital platforms have tolerated and even encouraged the dissemination of right-wing misinformation. These concerns have contributed to a growing belief that Big Tech is too powerful and unaccountable. In October 2020, the US House of Representatives’ antitrust subcommittee proposed the potential break-up of some firms. Both Republican and Democratic subcommittee members agreed that tech giants had acted anti-competitively. In the meantime, competition authorities and policy-makers elsewhere have taken up the case against Big Tech. Regulators in Australia, Japan, Mexico and India have conducted studies critical of large digital platforms. Chinese authorities have also begun taking action against the country’s own large digital firms. Despite the growing global consensus, few countries have yet formulated precise proposals to address the problem. President Biden has appointed antitrust scholars renowned for their criticisms of Big Tech to his administration, but a detailed policy is yet to emerge. Competition authorities around the world have launched antitrust proceedings, but these will be casespecific. The UK has well-developed thinking, but