Calls to activate the anti-coercion instrument in response to Trump’s latest tariff threat are well-founded. The evidence suggests Europe will again stop short
WhatsApp is a pretty big one. Europe runs on it. Insta and YouTube are a revenue source for a lot of especially young people. Uber and Lyft are widespread (but do have local alternatives).
It’s Internet services that are the big target, and those Europeans would miss are the ones that generate local revenue.
In other words „don’t target Big Tech“ even if we fire the Bazooka.
What are the services American companies provide that are so valuable they are more important than protecting the sovereignty of a European country?
MS Office? Android? iOS?
I generally don’t know what services they are afraid of targeting and potentially losing.
No mainstream alternative to Android/iOS exists. Same goes for Visa/Mastercard. All of them are US products.
Essentially shutting down all smartphones and most consumer payments would be pretty crippling.
I hope this whole thing is enough of a wake-up call for the EU to put (more) effort into a lasting solution.
If you shutdown MSOffice, Android, and iOS, that would probably halt most of the big European companies like WannaCry but worse.
On top, all credit card transactions are US-based: Visa, Mastercard, and then PayPal.
WhatsApp is a pretty big one. Europe runs on it. Insta and YouTube are a revenue source for a lot of especially young people. Uber and Lyft are widespread (but do have local alternatives).
It’s Internet services that are the big target, and those Europeans would miss are the ones that generate local revenue.