The EU Gets Tough on Big Tech

The new rules could soon have a global effect

The visible hand of politics matters in more areas of the economy these days. Last week, I wrote about how industrial policy has made a comeback on both sides of the Atlantic, particularly when it comes to the green economy.

In Europe, the European Union has also been busy over the last few years developing the new rules of the game for the European digital economy. From this month, the EU is getting tough on Big Tech.

The New Digital Challenges for Europe

It has certainly been a necessary political priority given that we now know more about how big tech services have been used in recent years to distort the political landscape and threaten the integrity of democracy.

Many of us will remember the Cambridge Analytica- Facebook data scandal. Former Cambridge Analytica employee, Brittany Kaiser, wrote a book about what she witnessed when working there.

In 2021, following accounts given at a hearing in the European Parliament by Facebook whistleblower, Frances Haugen, MEPs were troubled to hear her revelations about that company’s practices and how they impact users and their fundamental rights.