{"id":66434,"date":"2020-12-31T16:00:07","date_gmt":"2021-01-01T00:00:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/?p=66434"},"modified":"2020-12-31T06:08:29","modified_gmt":"2020-12-31T14:08:29","slug":"eu-unveils-new-rules-to-curb-technology-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cogwriter.com\/news\/prophecy\/eu-unveils-new-rules-to-curb-technology-companies\/","title":{"rendered":"‘EU ‘regrets’ new US tariffs’ & ‘EU Unveils New Rules to Curb Technology Companies’"},"content":{"rendered":"

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COGwriter<\/a><\/p>\n

The European Union (EU) wants the Biden-Harris Administration to take trade actions:<\/p>\n

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EU ‘regrets’ new US tariffs on German, French products<\/h2>\n

31 December 2020<\/p>\n

The European Commission said Thursday it “regrets” the US decision to slap more tariffs on French and German products as part of a spat over aircraft manufacturers Airbus and Boeing.<\/p>\n

Brussels accused Washington of\u00a0“unilaterally” disrupting ongoing talks and said it would seek a solution to the row with the incoming Biden administration.<\/p>\n

Earlier, US trade officials\u00a0announced plans to impose additional tariffs amid the ongoing row<\/a> over\u00a0subsidies between the US and EU.<\/p>\n

“Aircraft manufacturing parts … certain non-sparkling wine … and certain cognac and other grape brandies from France and Germany”\u00a0will be subject to the new\u00a0measures, the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) said in a statement.<\/p>\n

The USTR did not saywhen the tariffs would take effect,<\/a> but noted that additional details would be “forthcoming.” The new tariffs mark the latest move in a\u00a016-year US-EU dispute<\/a> over civil aviation subsidies involving European aircraft company Airbus SE and its US-based rival Boeing. https:\/\/www.dw.com\/en\/eu-regrets-new-us-tariffs-on-german-french-products\/a-56101854<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The EU has not been happy with the USA. It hopes a Biden-Harris Administration will reverse some of the tariff\/trade decisions of the Trump Administration.<\/p>\n

And, perhaps to try to negotiate from a stronger position, the EU also has been taking steps to reduce the dominance of US big tech:<\/p>\n

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EU Unveils New Rules to Curb Technology Companies<\/h2>\n

PARIS – The Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act have just been presented in Brussels. These proposed policies aim to revise all the principles that apply to digital services within the 27 member states \u2014 from the publication of illegal content on social networks to the sale of products online.<\/p>\n

Big Tech companies will not be allowed, for example, to stop users from uninstalling preinstalled software or apps, nor will they be able to use data from business users to compete against them.<\/p>\n

To do so, the European Union governing body would allow fines of up to 10% of annual global revenue. Another part of the European plan is to make sure e-commerce platforms take more responsibility for their goods and services.<\/p>\n

European Commission Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager said these new regulations are the right tools to bring “order to chaos” on the internet and to rein in the online “gatekeepers” that dominate the market.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe two proposals, they serve one purpose: to make sure that we, as users, customers, businesses, have access to a wide choice of safe products and services online, just as well as we do in the physical world,” Vestager said. “Whether from our streets or from our screens, we should be able to do our shopping in a safe manner. Whether we turn pages or we just scroll down, we should be able to choose and trust the news that we read. Of course, what is illegal offline is equally illegal online.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the announcement, some companies criticized the move. A spokesperson for Google said the company was concerned that the measures \u201cseem to specifically target a handful of companies.”<\/p>\n

Thierry Breton, European commissioner for internal market, denied those allegations.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe respect companies, but we say the bigger they are, the more obligations they may have to fulfill,” Breton said. “What is important to us is that everybody is welcome in Europe, but our responsibility is to decide and give directions and rules to protect what is important to us. These are not two acts where we would say that these companies are too big, and we propose a dismantle. Not here, not on this side of the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coming new regulations announced in Brussels echoed the concerns over the world about the influence of big technology companies. 12\/16\/20 https:\/\/www.voanews.com\/europe\/eu-unveils-new-rules-curb-technology-companies<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While the EU says this is not biased against the US, the reality is that it at least partially must be.<\/p>\n

Consider also that last year, a major European leader publicly spoke against major US dominated internet companies:<\/p>\n

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EU’s Tusk warns of risks in rise of U.S. tech giants<\/h2>\n

May 3, 2019<\/p>\n

WARSAW (Reuters) – The world needs to be wary of the rise of tech giants such as Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon, comparing their powers to those of countries such as China, European Council President Donald Tusk said in Warsaw on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the East, we see the rise of those capable of controlling everyone\u2019s behavior, and in the West we\u2019ve seen the rise of an uncontrolled, spontaneous empire,\u201d Tusk said in Warsaw in reference to the companies during a speech marking Constitution Day. https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/article\/us-poland-tusk-tech\/eus-tusk-warns-of-risks-in-rise-of-u-s-tech-giants-idUSKCN1S91AO<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The EU has taken many steps against US-based internet companies in the past few years (e.g. Germany and Spain speech laws: A second \u2018Spanish Inquisition\u2019? Pope Francis on \u2018Fake News\u2019?<\/a> and EU Enters Orwellian End Game, Brighteon Blocking, and the proposed US \u2018Equality Act\u2019<\/a>), and looks to take more steps against them in the future.<\/p>\n

Notice also the following:<\/p>\n

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Technology companies based in Seattle or Silicon Valley now account for five out of the five most valuable companies in America, leading to a spate of commentary last year from lawyers like Columbia\u2019s Tim Wu<\/a> to economists like Harvard\u2019s Kenneth Rogoff<\/a> arguing that Big Tech has, in some sense, gotten \u201ctoo big.\u201d And in 2019, politicians are starting to listen.<\/p>\n

One of these five, Microsoft, was the subject of considerable antitrust scrutiny in the late 1990s. Another, Google, has been hit by European antitrust regulators for major fines. …<\/p>\n

European competition authorities suspect<\/a> that Amazon uses data it gathers in its capacity as a marketplace to develop copycat first-party products, a practice that certainly feels kind of sleazy \u2014 though, of course, not entirely different from the house brands<\/a> you\u2019ll find at any supermarket or department store. …<\/p>\n

Facebook, meanwhile, has been besieged by media complaints about privacy<\/a> and fake news<\/a>. But not only do approximately a couple billion users derive daily entertainment from the free service, but the service\u2019s sheer ubiquity makes it hard to leave. Google, like Facebook, also uses black box algorithms to surface content to users that can dramatically sway the fortunes of individual publishers\u2019 fates while also raising questions about editorial skew. https:\/\/www.vox.com\/recode\/2019\/5\/3\/18520703\/big-tech-break-up-explained<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

What is commonly known as ‘big tech’ is more and more seen to be like ‘big brother’: a totalitarian system to decide what information people should have available to them.<\/p>\n

But, although various ones in the EU are warning against it, the biblical reality is that Europe will become totalitarian itself (Revelation 13; see also EU summits to push for \u2018European industry strategy\u2019 and \u2018proper\u2019 thinking<\/a> and EU proposes billions for \u2018Digital Europe\u2019 surveillance: This would assist 666<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Europe wants to dominate big tech itself. It is working on many ways to bypass the USA (e.g. Der Spiegel says Europe needs to employ \u2018clever resistance\u2019 as it works towards a post-USA world<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Plus, it has already taken various steps in order to do so (e.g. EU to spend one billion euros on quantum tech to compete with USA and China; France\u2019s Macron wants European military spending to go to European firms; \u2018Europe Must Rebel\u2019<\/a>).<\/p>\n

By doing what it has been doing to US-based internet giants, the EU has been able to learn how to:<\/p>\n