[higherpurpose]

They'll put more and harsher regulations on American companies until they say yes. So I'm fine with whatever decision US makes, because I wouldn't mind if US companies (and the US government by proxy) wouldn't have a monopoly on EU users's data anymore.

[davidnu]

You want governments to decide market winners and losers?! the fact that US companies are successful in Europe and Europeans are less so is partly due to the fact that they don't suffer from the backwards economic views you're currently displaying.

[atmosx]

> the fact that US companies are successful in Europe and Europeans are less so is partly due to the fact that they don't suffer from the backwards economic views you're currently displaying.

That's kinda harsh, there might be other reasons too[1].

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON#Examples_of_industrial_...

[davidnu2]

You're grasping at straws, so is the EU with its recent deluge of grandstanding gestures.

[mcv]

And partly because US companies often get secret assistance from their government.

The EU is better at creating a level playing field for open competition than the US.

[davidnu2]

It's European companies that get interfered with by their governments and that is a big part of the problem. There is no such thing as "secret assistance" in the US, and "level playing field" is another bullshit buzzword which means governments get to device about the companies they like best.

Your economic woes are all your fault, own up to them and start changing things, ignorantly blaming others won't get you anywhere.

[mcv]

> There is no such thing as "secret assistance" in the US

US spy agencies assisting Boeing with their bid against Airbus may not be secret anymore, but it was certainly intended as such.

The US government negotiating in Russia on behalf of Visa and MasterCard may not be secret, but it's certainly not the kind of assistance smaller companies can count on.

Face it, the US government and US corporations are in bed together. They represent each other's interests. This happens on a scale you don't see in the EU, or probably anywhere else.

I don't know what economic woes you are referring to, but I don't thing selling your government to the corporations is healthy for your economy.

[marcosdumay]

Both are clearly happening.

It's not a secret that the US spys help US corporations, and it would be incredibly naive to think that the european equivalent didn't happen. But the US spying apparatus is much bigger than what any european country has, givin it an upper hand.

Also, european countries mess more with its market. From highter taxes to strict rulebooks categorizing products and amounts to be produced, the EU goes over all possibilities for creating a big government. The US interferes much less, and has an upper hand because of it.