July 20, 2018
On Wednesday, the European Union slapped Google with a record $5 billion antitrust fine, the latest in a string of judgments levied by EU competition czar Margrethe Vestager against US tech companies that dominate the mobile, online advertising, and internet search markets.
This is “Team Europe: Internet Police” in action: by taking on what they consider to be Silicon Valley’s excessive clout (in this case, the EU says Google used the market dominance of its Android operating system to force consumers to use its search engine), European regulators are seeking to shape the ways that global tech companies do business locally. If Google fails to get the case overturned on appeal, it’ll have to make big changes to the way it operates in the EU and, potentially, elsewhere.
A few thoughts from our own tech czar Kevin Allison:
This is not just a European phenomenon. Governments around the world are racing to assert sovereignty over an unruly and rapidly expanding digital sphere. Whether it’s the EU getting tough on antitrust or data protection, Russia requiring tech companies to store citizens’ personal data inside the country, or China banning foreign websites to support its domestic tech sector, the “World Wide Web” is starting to look like a patchwork of “Narrow National Webs” where regulatory regimes differ from one another.
It poses existential questions for tech firms: As the global regulatory landscape fragments, should Silicon Valley’s tech giants adopt different business models for different markets, depending on local requirements? Or should they engage in a race to the top, redesigning their businesses to comply with whoever’s rules are the strictest? What if they push back against the regulatory onslaught by threatening to withhold their business from countries where the cost of complying with national rules has become too high? Whatever the answer, the freewheeling, libertarian dream that inspired the founders of many of the West’s biggest tech companies is fading fast, and local politics are becoming a global challenge for the tech giants.
More For You
Egyptian pounds, a gold bar and a necklace are seen during an interview with Mohamed Abdeen, an Egyptian jeweller, as demand for gold bars and coins rises in Egypt, with buyers seeking a safer store of value amid volatile markets and economic uncertainty, traders and industry officials said, in Cairo, Egypt, on February 5, 2026.
REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Egypt said on Monday it arrested more than 200 people along its southern border – most of them foreigners – as part of a crackdown on illegal gold mining and smuggling in the gold-rich area.
Most Popular
The two countries remain allies against Russia, but the rift could complicate efforts to rebuff Moscow.
Inflation, war, climate change, and now artificial intelligence are among the world’s top concerns, according to a poll of 15 countries.
As governments and businesses accelerate AI adoption, concerns around energy and water demand are intensifying. Microsoft leaders Melanie Nakagawa and Juan Lavista Ferres highlight new research showing that advancements in AI models, datacenter operations, and hardware could improve energy efficiency by 8–20x. The findings suggest that, at scale, AI systems can become significantly more efficient than previously understood—enabling continued growth while reducing the resources required to support it and reinforcing a more sustainable path for AI expansion. Read the full blog here.
© 2025 GZERO Media. All Rights Reserved | A Eurasia Group media company.