Re:EU to unveil landmark law curbing power of tech giants
by etripe on Wednesday December 16, 2020 @04:33AM
(#25440603)
Are they really "American" firms in anything but name? Once they go multinational, they lose their allegiance to their "native" countries. I don't see any evidence of loyalty to their home countries, per se. Not even in the most basic sense of paying their fair due of taxes.
I don't think it's shocking at all. Every market is free to regulate itself however it sees fit, regardless of what "nationality" players on it have. It's interesting hardly anyone blinks an eye when that regulation allows "American" companies to save costs in developing countries but there are complaints when it disadvantages those companies, often for the same kinds of regulation: labour and environmental.
Re:EU to unveil landmark law curbing power of tech giants
by lutoma on Tuesday December 15, 2020 @12:35PM
(#25432572)
> Imagine a US company getting approval for a merger from the US and not getting approval from the EU, what happens then? Can China also grant itself this level of influence over American business?
Both of these are already the status quo even before this law
Re:EU to unveil landmark law curbing power of tech giants
by jashmatthews on Tuesday December 15, 2020 @12:26PM
(#25432464)
It’s already happened. GE-Honeywell was rejected. The answer depends on how important the EU or China market is to that business.
We're beginning to see the limitations of globalization. For all the anti-trust rhetoric from the US, it's unlikely it'll accept this level of over-reach without pushing back. Imagine a US company getting approval for a merger from the US and not getting approval from the EU, what happens then? Can China also grant itself this level of influence over American business?
We're definitely in the beginning stages of a new world order that's far less cohesive, with distributed levels of influence.