[SllX]

If by "vulnerable to losing", as in it would hurt their economies and put people out of work or hurt livelihoods because the EU in their infinite wisdom decided to excise one or more of them from the continent, it's pretty much name a non-European tech company.

Even Dell, HP, IBM, Oracle. Service contracts have to be fulfilled, and making a living off of social media like Instagram, YouTube and Twitch isn't just an American phenomenon, actually come to think of it, most of the YouTubers I follow aren't even American. They're mostly in Europe or Australia.

And don't assume they'll just be fine without Facebook either, as far as digital advertising goes, Facebook and Google are pretty much the only game in town. Some small businesses do depend on being able to get business through advertising referrals.

Europe is a rich continent, it's not like they would be destitute if the rich wonders of American tech companies just evaporated from their part of the world tomorrow, but you're not replacing most of them overnight either, so Europe instead is trying this thing where they can at least try to control them.

I mean, I don't see it working out in the long run but in the short term they've shown some muscle, because after all: Europe is a rich continent. Australia, Canada and New Zealand are market-wise, about the size of three US States put together, which is nice, but Europe is pretty much the only large and rich viable market for most tech companies outside of the United States and Japan without putting yourself in a position of having to kiss Chairman Winnie the Pooh on the ring.

[analog31]

That's what I'm trying to wrap my head around. Facebook and Google have value because they have gained monopoly power in markets that they created themselves. The need for unlimited personal data and targeted advertising didn't even exist until they came along. Now they have become so integral to everyday life, that access to them is being framed as an entitlement.

How do you manage a utility that tends towards monopoly, but that is also recognized as an entitlement? The answer is to create a state-run monopoly. What does the Ma Bell for advertising even look like?

Could the Europeans have attracted those monopolies to their shores? What did they do wrong?

[SllX]

First movers tend to have an advantage. That’s rarely permanent so getting concerned and trying to preemptively regulate is just bound to create more problems than it solves.

If Facebook/Google went away from Europe tomorrow, Europe would adapt around their absence just as they adapted to their presence, but that doesn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt and hurt actual people. You don’t need state monopolies, you just need to let hungry entrepreneurs continue to look for opportunities just as Facebook and Google did at one point in their existence and exploit those opportunities.

[analog31]

Indeed, and I think that a basic safety net can smooth out the roughest of rough edges. There's no reason why a person needs to starve if their platform vanishes.

[SllX]

To be fair, it’s not likely their platform will vanish overnight as long as Google and Facebook are making money in Europe unless the EU really does drive them out. Market shifts can be fast but there’s at least usually some leading indicators when a small business might no longer be viable.

[imtringued]

>most of the YouTubers I follow aren't even American. They're mostly in Europe or Australia.

Ok, if that is the case then why would those content creators want a country locked market place to publish their content on? If I were in the shoes of a European content creator I would publish on the platform with the most reach. I don't have to care about which nation the platform is hosted from.

[SllX]

I agree.