Tech spats spark US fears of 'digital protectionism'
Tech spats spark US fears of ' digital
protectionism'
By Rob Lever 4 hours ago
Tensions have been rising with the European Union on
privacy, antitrust and other issues, impacting technology firms
Washington (AFP) - As American tech giants extend their
global reach, fears are growing on their side of the Atlantic
over trade barriers some see as "digital protectionism."
While China has long been a difficult market for US firms
to navigate, tensions have been rising with the European Union on privacy,
antitrust and other issues, impacting tech firms such as Google, Facebook and
Uber.
In recent weeks, Europe ' s highest court struck down an agreement which
allowed US firms to transfer personal data out of the region without running
afoul of privacy rules.
In parallel, Brussels
is looking to create a new "digital single market" simplifying rules
for operating across EU borders -- but which could also include new regulations
for online "platforms".
Some see this as a jab at US retailers like Amazon,
"sharing economy" services like Airbnb or even news outfits.
Ed Black, president of the Computer and Communications
Industry Association, said the platform proposal "has the potential to be
troublesome."
"Nobody has defined what a platform is," Black
told AFP. "It feels like a proposal to solve a non-problem."
After the European Court of Justice invalidated the
so-called "Safe Harbor " data-sharing agreement this month,
Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker said Washington was "deeply
disappointed."
For the past 15 years, the key transatlantic accord
allowed tech firms like Facebook to operate on both sides of the ocean without
running afoul of EU privacy laws.
The ruling, Pritzker said, "creates significant uncertainty
for both US and EU companies and consumers and puts at risk the thriving
transatlantic digital economy."
- Undercurrent of fear -
"We' re
waiting to see which way Europe goes," says Daniel Castro, vice president
at the Information Technology & Innovation Foundation, a Washington think tank.
Castro detects "an undercurrent of fear" in Europe because of the popularity of services such as
Google and Facebook but argues that the US and EU "need to be on the same
side when it comes to free trade."
Another source of friction is Europe ' s effort to enforce the "right to be
forgotten," allowing individuals to remove online content from searches
that are outdated or inaccurate.
"You' re
talking about Europe imposing its version of
how the world should be on everyone else," Castro said.
President Barack Obama expressed concerns about digital
trade barriers in an interview earlier this year with Re/code.
"We have owned the Internet. Our companies have
created it, expanded it, perfected it in ways that (European firms) can' t compete," Obama said in response to a
question about European actions in the digital sphere.
"And oftentimes what is portrayed as high-minded
positions on issues sometimes is just designed to carve out some of their
commercial interests."
- Buy time for Europe -
That view was echoed by Kati Suominen, who heads the
Future of Trade initiative for the Center for Strategic and International
Studies, a think tank.
"Europe is seeking
to build its own digital economy by complicating the operations of foreign
companies on European soil. In that sense, it is protectionism," she said.
Rather than throw up new barriers, she argued, Europe should be tearing them down if it wishes to foster
a digital economy -- notably to enable better access to venture capital.
Last month Guenther Oettinger, the EU commissioner for
the digital economy and society, brushed aside suggestions of protectionism.
Our rules on a European level are relevant for everybody,
for European producers and players, for Asian players, and for American players
as well," he said during a visit to San
Francisco .
- Snowden impact -
While Google has been the target of a contentious EU
anti-trust probe among other issues, Facebook has been especially impacted by
privacy rules, with Ireland
becoming the latest to examine the legality of its transfer of user data across
the Atlantic .
Belgian officials have also sought to prevent Facebook
from using a data "cookie" that gathers information about users. The
social media giant says the tool helps verify legitimate accounts and combat
spam.
A key element in the US-EU row over privacy has been the
fear that US Internet firms are handing over data to the National Security
Agency, in light of revelations from former intelligence contractor Edward
Snowden.
To address those concerns, US lawmakers have moved to
pass a bill allowing non-citizens to enforce their data protection rights in US
courts under the Privacy Act.
Berin Szoka, president of the activist group TechFreedom,
said the bill was a step toward "repairing America ' s
tarnished image on data privacy."
He noted that the failure until now to address the issue
in Washington
"has provoked an international crisis -- one that could lead to a European
blockade of American Internet companies."
Suominen argued that the US and EU have a chance to
foster a flourishing digital economy -- with appropriate rules -- as part of
the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) currently being
negotiated.
But she warned that policymakers need to bring their
thinking up to date.
"Policymakers are struggling to understand what
these technologies are and what they can do, and we have archaic policies from
the 20th century," she said. "I worry that we are not on the right
path for the 21st century."
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