Big Tech Wants a Say in EU Law: More Might for the Mighty
Published in Die Tageszeitung
(Germany) on 30 June 2025
by Svenja Bergt (link to original)
(Germany) on 30 June 2025
by Svenja Bergt (link to original)
Translated from
by Fiona Garratt.
Edited by Michelle Bisson.
U.S. tech companies may be providing input on how rules curbing their market power are applied. That’s insane — and seriously dangerous.
Talk about suspense! The man in the White House is single-handedly deciding on outrageous tariff hikes. Panic sets in, rattling even the German car industry. Talks, delays, and more talks. And since Voldemort once declared that the European regulations aimed at curbing the market power of tech giants are evil — and reasonably so — the following proposal has now surfaced, which gives those very corporations a say in how the rules are applied. In return, the U.S. is expected to show flexibility on the issue of tariffs.
Not to mention that, thanks to their army of lobbyists in Brussels, the corporations are not exactly lacking for influence. Such a set-up would be a great deal for the U.S., but disastrous for Europe.
At this point, however, a surprising new player has stepped onto the stage: the German economy. To be fair, what came from their ranks in recent weeks was mostly a kind of wistful grin whenever the new federal government was mentioned. Finally, Robert Habeck is gone. Finally, a steady, pro-business stance. And finally, direct lines of communication are open again.
But now, at least for the German and European digital industries, the smiles have faded. Handelsblatt, Germany's leading business and financial newspaper, quotes exclusively from a strongly worded letter sent by the CEOs of local companies — including fashion platform Zalando, software developer Personio, and search engine provider Ecosia — to Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The federal government appears increasingly receptive to Big Tech's input these days.
No Meaningful Competition Exists
The gist of the letter? A resounding no way! EU regulations may well be the last chance to rein in Big Tech's power. Startup groups from across Europe have addressed an open letter to the European Commission. “If the EU wants to promote European tech champions, it can’t simultaneously undermine the key regulatory foundations for fair digital markets," the letter states.
That’s the core of the argument right there. Across broad areas of the digital market, there is no serious competition. Whether it’s cloud services, mobile operating systems, or advertising networks, each sector is dominated by just a handful of major players. And these market-dominating companies in the digital sector are, after all, based in the U.S.
Does anyone even know that these days? Germany’s new digital minister does. He recently said at an event: Currently, over 75% of European cloud data is "in the hands of U.S. hyperscalers” like Amazon and Microsoft. The minister then asked, “Why?”
They're Already Cowering before Trump
Considering that Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger knows the answer, the rest of the federal government should know as well. This is because only a few large corporations dominate the market. And without firm regulation, the trend will only continue in one direction — toward increased dominance by the major players already in control.
Because no one seriously believes that this kind of appeasement-driven role in policy-making could simply be rolled back in a — hopefully — future post-Trump era. Renegotiating tariff levels would be a far more promising approach, especially once the U.S. administration realizes that tariff-driven inflation is starting to noticeably damage its own economy.
Moreover, U.S. corporations — tech or otherwise — are already cowering before Donald Trump. For instance, in matters of diversity programs or publicly stated political positions. Given that, how reliable are the contractual relationships between German and European companies or public institutions and the major U.S. providers?
No. Anyone even thinking about giving U.S. corporations more say in how European rules are implemented has no business talking about digital sovereignty in Europe the next day. In that case, we should set aside the dream of building a German or European alternative to Google, Amazon or ChatGPT entirely.
Talk about suspense! The man in the White House is single-handedly deciding on outrageous tariff hikes. Panic sets in, rattling even the German car industry. Talks, delays, and more talks. And since Voldemort once declared that the European regulations aimed at curbing the market power of tech giants are evil — and reasonably so — the following proposal has now surfaced, which gives those very corporations a say in how the rules are applied. In return, the U.S. is expected to show flexibility on the issue of tariffs.
Not to mention that, thanks to their army of lobbyists in Brussels, the corporations are not exactly lacking for influence. Such a set-up would be a great deal for the U.S., but disastrous for Europe.
At this point, however, a surprising new player has stepped onto the stage: the German economy. To be fair, what came from their ranks in recent weeks was mostly a kind of wistful grin whenever the new federal government was mentioned. Finally, Robert Habeck is gone. Finally, a steady, pro-business stance. And finally, direct lines of communication are open again.
But now, at least for the German and European digital industries, the smiles have faded. Handelsblatt, Germany's leading business and financial newspaper, quotes exclusively from a strongly worded letter sent by the CEOs of local companies — including fashion platform Zalando, software developer Personio, and search engine provider Ecosia — to Chancellor Friedrich Merz. The federal government appears increasingly receptive to Big Tech's input these days.
No Meaningful Competition Exists
The gist of the letter? A resounding no way! EU regulations may well be the last chance to rein in Big Tech's power. Startup groups from across Europe have addressed an open letter to the European Commission. “If the EU wants to promote European tech champions, it can’t simultaneously undermine the key regulatory foundations for fair digital markets," the letter states.
That’s the core of the argument right there. Across broad areas of the digital market, there is no serious competition. Whether it’s cloud services, mobile operating systems, or advertising networks, each sector is dominated by just a handful of major players. And these market-dominating companies in the digital sector are, after all, based in the U.S.
Does anyone even know that these days? Germany’s new digital minister does. He recently said at an event: Currently, over 75% of European cloud data is "in the hands of U.S. hyperscalers” like Amazon and Microsoft. The minister then asked, “Why?”
They're Already Cowering before Trump
Considering that Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger knows the answer, the rest of the federal government should know as well. This is because only a few large corporations dominate the market. And without firm regulation, the trend will only continue in one direction — toward increased dominance by the major players already in control.
Because no one seriously believes that this kind of appeasement-driven role in policy-making could simply be rolled back in a — hopefully — future post-Trump era. Renegotiating tariff levels would be a far more promising approach, especially once the U.S. administration realizes that tariff-driven inflation is starting to noticeably damage its own economy.
Moreover, U.S. corporations — tech or otherwise — are already cowering before Donald Trump. For instance, in matters of diversity programs or publicly stated political positions. Given that, how reliable are the contractual relationships between German and European companies or public institutions and the major U.S. providers?
No. Anyone even thinking about giving U.S. corporations more say in how European rules are implemented has no business talking about digital sovereignty in Europe the next day. In that case, we should set aside the dream of building a German or European alternative to Google, Amazon or ChatGPT entirely.
Previous article![]( "Trump’s Disappointment Will Have No Adverse Consequences for Putin*")
Next article![]( "US at a Crossroads")
