[0xfedbee]

What a hypocrisy. At one hand they encourage free market, and on the other they do shit like this. This rent-seeking-from-US-corpos model isn't gonna work long for EU. Camel's back will be broken and everyone will regret, including this stupid policy makers.

[TheLoafOfBread]

When something gets too big, laws are necessary to allow competition. See USA breaking up Standard Oil and AT&T. Also USA almost breaking up Microsoft.

Otherwise you will ends up in Russia-style oligarchy.

[jajko]

What massive corporate breakup happened in past 2-3 decades? People keep referring those few cases but that was world and generations away, current politics (regardless who is at helm) are completely different and much more pro-megacorporations.

[mmkos]

Free markets don't work. Corporations absolutely will abuse their position and power to establish monopolies wherever they can, blocking any new entrants to the market. I wonder how we (europeans) would ever regret regulation to stifle monopolistic behaviours from American behemoths.

[throwaway94612]

How many tech monopolies can you name?

[sofixa]

As long as you don't interpret monopoly to have to mean 100% market share, but an overwhelming portion of the market, enough to be able to disrupt it, prevent any new entrants, and abuse the leading position without the fear of repercussions, plenty.

* Google in search, video, browser, email

* Meta in social media for massive age segments (what, 30-70?; younger than that may be on Snapchat/TikTok (too))

* Amazon in online retail, and specifically in online books and e-readers

* Microsoft in desktop OS and productivity suite, especially for business

If we go into oligopolies, where there are a very small amount of market players that can still abuse their position, we can also add video and audio streaming, mobile phones and tablets, CPU and GPU manufacturers, smart watches, etc.

[Moldoteck]

you forgot to mention that free market does not exist anywhere. It's a 'free market bounded by laws' and each country, including US are free to design different laws for their market and companies are free to compete inside this bounded market. It's the same in EU. I'm certain there are no developed countries where marked isn't bounded by the laws/antitrusts/regulations/monopoly prevention and so on

[bryanlarsen]

Free market means "free to trade", not "free from rules and laws". A set of rules and conventions are required for free trade.

[Xeamek]

You realize there are anti-trusts laws in the US as well, right?