Europe launches plan to tackle US online domination

[fjtorres]

http://www.cnet.com/news/europe-laun...ine-dominance/

The European Union has unveiled a 16-point plan to ensure Europe's tech industry can compete with established US online giants.

President Jean-Claude Juncker and Vice-President Andrus Ansip of the European Commission, the EU's executive branch, announced the Digital Single Market Strategy in Brussels today. The document, which Ansip describes as a "starting point", argues, "Europe has the capabilities to lead in the global digital economy but we are currently not making the most of them. Fragmentation and barriers that do not exist in the physical Single Market are holding the EU back."

"A Digital Single Market is one in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured," says the strategy document, "where individuals and businesses can seamlessly access and exercise online activities under conditions of fair competition, and a high level of consumer and personal data protection, irrespective of their nationality or place of residence."

To that end, the Digital Single Market Strategy seeks to reform copyright rules; remove geographic barriers across different member states for both online geo-blocking and real-world parcel delivery; and standardise complex VAT regimes across different countries.

Although the competition inquiry could challenge the dominance of big US companies, other provisions of the Digital Single Market Strategy could actually benefit them. "Running through the Commission's agenda is a distaste of the market strength and practices of certain big US tech companies," notes Adam Rendle, Senior Associate at law firm Taylor Wessing, but "it is ironic, then, that the big US tech companies are in a strong position at present to benefit from prohibitions on geo-blocking given they have the scale, resources and market penetration to provide the pan-EU offerings that the Digital Single Market Strategy allows.

"Of course, what the Commission hopes is that the Strategy will create the conditions for EU versions of the big US tech companies to develop, because they would suddenly have a huge, pan-EU potential market for their services."

More at the source and pdf here:
http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/digit...ication_en.pdf

[fjtorres]

One read: "More power to Brussels. They'll be better overlords than the americans."

Could be interesting.

[eschwartz]

You sort of glossed over the important part -- their 16 points seems to be cover for another competition investigation. See, I knew there was something fishy about the EU "seeks to reform copyright rules; remove geographic barriers... etc. ..."

Why did you waste time quoting the wrong sections?

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

You sort of glossed over the important part -- their 16 points seems to be cover for another competition investigation. See, I knew there was something fishy about the EU "seeks to reform copyright rules; remove geographic barriers... etc. ..."

Why did you waste time quoting the wrong sections?

The headline says it all so it's not like I buried the lede.

Besides, the quoted sections cast enough doubts on their true, domestic, agenda.
They can "investigate competition" and promote national champions all they want and nothing significant will change. (Remember Windows-N? They got what they wanted and nothing changed. Their witch hunts can't change the underlying facts on the "ground", namely that the tech companies can hire better lawyers and negotiators. )

Now, getting local governments to cede more power (over culture, copyright, and *revenue*) to the Brusselcrats is something that would have some impact in the long haul.
Assuming they succeed, of course.

[Phogg]

This thread belongs in the politics and religion forum.

Given that there were several initiatives twenty years ago to build a parallel Internet and various governments blocked it (deciding that one Internet would be easier to shut down than multiple internets) it is a problem created entirely by the entities holding their breath and turning blue over it now.

[Lynx-lynx]

Power to the EU .....

[fjtorres]

I dunno, with all the interest in ebook VAT rates and geoblocking, the *news* that somebody intends to try to do something about it, regardless of motivation, sounds newsworthy.

As I said, I doubt they'll achieve anything meaningful but at least they are talking ebook issues. Better than not-talking...