California: Tech CEOs from across Europe are calling on the continent to take stronger action against Big Tech’s dominance and reduce reliance on the U.S. for critical technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) following Donald Trump’s election victory.
The event during the Web Summit in Lisbon was put under the microscope by Trump’s “America-first” policies. The European tech leaders argued that a “Europe-first” strategy should be realized so that regional innovation can be accelerated while balancing the monopolistic influence of U.S. tech giants including Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Meta.
Proton, whose Swiss VPN, called for a braver European move, arguing that the technological developments made in the West have been monopolized by a few companies based in the United States. “Now is the time for Europe to step up and be bold and play aggressively,” said Yen. In this, he underscored that Europe should focus on building its ecosystem instead of relying on innovation in the United States.
According to Yen, it is because of the globalist thinking of European leaders, which he believes is largely an unfair playing field. “For the last 20 years, Americans and Chinese tech firms have played extremely unfairly. Now, with an America-first president, Europe must prioritize its interests,” he said.
Regulatory Challenges and Tech Market Dynamics
A step in regulating Big Tech has thus been taken with the Digital Markets Act by the European Union. Still, this may intimidate Trump’s administration to pressure Europe to roll back its regulatory stance. More than that, the DMA itself has already had some initial good results for the sake of curbing anti-competitive practices. For example, according to Mozilla CEO Mitchell Baker, the EU-mandated choice screen for Android owners to pick their preferred search engine increased the users of Firefox, thus showing how regulation can break a monopolistic hold. Thomas Plantenga, CEO of Vinted, stressed the need for Europe to become sovereign in tech. “We need to make sure Europe can take care of itself when it comes to energy, safety, education, and innovation. If we don’t invest, we risk falling behind,” Plantenga said.
AI Sovereignty: The Next Battleground
A major theme at the summit was “AI sovereignty,” which emphasizes the need for local control over AI infrastructure to reflect regional languages, cultures, and values. The dominance of U.S. firms like Microsoft, which backs OpenAI’s ChatGPT, raises concerns about over-reliance on American AI tools. CEO Christian Kroll at Ecosia condemned Microsoft’s new price increases for its Bing Search APIs, which have slowed the rise of niche, environment-friendly search engines. Having understood this dependence, Ecosia collaborated with Qwant to develop a European search index, intending to create a European alternative to U.S. control web browsing tools.
Preparing for Trump’s Presidency
Uncertainty looms over how Trump’s policies will influence global AI regulation. The EU’s AI Act, a landmark framework introducing transparency requirements, could have significant implications for U.S. tech firms leading AI innovation. Shelley McKinley, GitHub’s chief legal officer, acknowledged the unpredictability of Trump’s forthcoming presidency. “We’re preparing for various scenarios and waiting to see what his administration will prioritize,” she said. As Europe prepares to address the new challenges, tech leaders join the calls for more investments in regional innovation and stronger regulations for a competitive and independent digital future.
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