Especially in contrast to the current digital colonialism.
US Big Tech companies pay almost no corporation taxes in the EU (and if they do, only in Ireland / Luxembourg), and compete and buy out European companies, shipping the high-paying jobs (and the economic benefits and taxes those bring) back to the US (much like the oil industry in Nigeria, etc.).
The EU must take a stand against this, like has been done against Huawei. Ultimately the American Big Tech companies are no better than Huawei - the US is not an ally of the EU, and has been interfering in European democracy ever since the May 1947 crises.
Let’s not overgeneralize. The US is not in lockstep with all EU goals and ideas, but not an ally? As someone who grew up with nuclear drills every week I can assure you I think of the EU as an ally, AND I want you to have a robust Big Tech environment. We share a common cultural interest in freedom and fairness, more or less, despite all the craziness in the world right now. Maybe the US isn’t always the BEST friend, but we have to be in the top five right? I would hate to be replaced by Belarus and Russia. ;)
We are treaty bound to protect you and possibly die to do so in times of war, just like you have for us. Let’s keep it in perspective. If you really think the US is no different from China, I’m not sure there is anything I could ever say to convince you otherwise. If you live long enough, you see governments make bad decisions, some in retrospect, some from the beginning, and when you dig deep, you can often find it is associated with some individuals who had a lot to gain from those decisions. We spy, you spy, we all spy.
Defense is at the base of the pyramid in terms of national security. I can see some well intentioned individual in the CIA thinking that spying re: Airbus is important because it could impact our national security in terms of aircraft manufacturing and production, and how do we accommodate for the future as we lose market share and lay off skilled workers? There are legit reasons to know how the world is changing so you can adjust to it, but yeah maybe the US Government should have just asked.
But I doubt they wanted to use this knowledge to bury Europe or keep them under or thumb, or whatever. Yes we compete but it is more flag football than ultimate fighting. With China I am not so sure - we will see.
US Big Tech companies pay almost no corporation taxes in the EU (and if they do, only in Ireland / Luxembourg), and compete and buy out European companies, shipping the high-paying jobs (and the economic benefits and taxes those bring) back to the US (much like the oil industry in Nigeria, etc.).
The EU must take a stand against this, like has been done against Huawei. Ultimately the American Big Tech companies are no better than Huawei - the US is not an ally of the EU, and has been interfering in European democracy ever since the May 1947 crises.