First Click: Europe's case against American exceptionalism

In 2011, Eric Schmidt christened Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook the “gang of four” — calling them the most dominant companies in consumer technology. Notably, none of these companies are based in Europe. Worse yet, Microsoft — hit with $2.34 billion in antitrust-realted fines in the EU over the past decade — bought Nokia’s handset business last year in a crushing blow to European pride. Today’s antitrust actions against Google are just part of its plan to create a “level playing field for all digital companies.” Europe’s also reining in tax sanctuaries exploited by US multinationals and rejigging privacy rules related to the handling of consumer data beyond its borders.

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