this post was submitted on 20 Nov 2024

91 points (98.9% liked)

Europe

1532 readers

709 users here now

News and information from Europe 🇪🇺

(Current banner: La Mancha, Spain. Feel free to post submissions for banner images.)

Rules (2024-08-30)

This is an English-language community. Comments should be in English. Posts can link to non-English news sources when providing a full-text translation in the post description. Automated translations are fine, as long as they don't overly distort the content.
No links to misinformation or commercial advertising. When you post outdated/historic articles, add the year of publication to the post title. Infographics must include a source and a year of creation; if possible, also provide a link to the source.
Be kind to each other, and argue in good faith. Don't post direct insults nor disrespectful and condescending comments. Don't troll nor incite hatred. Don't look for novel argumentation strategies at Wikipedia's List of fallacies.
No bigotry, sexism, racism, antisemitism, dehumanization of minorities, or glorification of National Socialism.
Be the signal, not the noise: Strive to post insightful comments. Add "/s" when you're being sarcastic (and don't use it to break rule no. 3).
If you link to paywalled information, please provide also a link to a freely available archived version. Alternatively, try to find a different source.
Light-hearted content, memes, and posts about your European everyday belong in !yurop@lemm.ee. (They're cool, you should subscribe there too!)
Don't evade bans. If we notice ban evasion, that will result in a permanent ban for all the accounts we can associate with you.
No posts linking to speculative reporting about ongoing events with unclear backgrounds. Please wait at least 12 hours. (E.g., do not post breathless reporting on an ongoing terror attack.)

(This list may get expanded when necessary.)

We will use some leeway to decide whether to remove a comment.

If need be, there are also bans: 3 days for lighter offenses, 14 days for bigger offenses, and permanent bans for people who don't show any willingness to participate productively. If we think the ban reason is obvious, we may not specifically write to you.

If you want to protest a removal or ban, feel free to write privately to the mods: @federalreverse@feddit.org, @poVoq@slrpnk.net, or @anzo@programming.dev.

founded 4 months ago

MODERATORS

federalreverse@feddit.org

poVoq@slrpnk.net

anzo@programming.dev

European tech CEOs urge 'Europe-first' mentality to counter U.S. dominance after Trump victory (www.cnbc.com)

submitted 6 hours ago by 0x815@feddit.org to c/europe@feddit.org

21 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Archived link

CEOs of European technology companies told CNBC at the Web Summit technology conference this week that the continent should adopt a “Europe-first” approach to tech, after U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s election victory.
Andy Yen, CEO of VPN maker Proton, said Europe should “step up” and “be aggressive” to counter U.S. Big Tech firms’ tight grip on many important technologies, such as web browsing, cloud computing, smartphones — and now artificial intelligence.
Thomas Plantenga, CEO of Lithuania-based used clothing app Vinted, urged Europe to take the “right choices” to ensure it doesn’t get “left behind.”

all 23 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old

[–] Cris_Color@lemmy.world 33 points 6 hours ago (3 children)

If there's a way for that to happen without just building equality abusive and exploitative mega corporations of similarly monopolistic scale, that seems like a very good thing.

Though I honestly kinda worry the only way to really compete with the US would be for Europe to make choices that are similarly shitty as all the ones we've made here in the states :/

[–] FundMECFSResearch@lemmy.blahaj.zone 5 points 3 hours ago

In quality of life, especially if you add equality and time-off variable’s we’re not lagging behind the US, we’re squarely beating them.

But in the neoliberal GDP growth rates, which is the only thing capitalists seem to care about, yes we’re lagging behind.

[–] TheGrandNagus@lemmy.world 25 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

We need to push for open source software, contribute existing FOSS projects, and focus on open standards and interoperability - that way companies know if they don't play fair people/governments can move to other suppliers more easily.

Properly punishing US tech companies for their shenanigans would help too.

[–] atro_city@fedia.io 10 points 5 hours ago (3 children)

If you are an EU-citizen support the petition for an EU-Linux.

[–] M33@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 10 minutes ago

Voted. There is OpenSuse, but I'm not sure how percentage of European it is.

[–] kryptonidas@lemmings.world 4 points 1 hour ago* (last edited 1 hour ago)

And publiccode.eu, if the code is paid for with tax money it should be open source.

[–] HK65@sopuli.xyz 2 points 1 hour ago (1 children)

I was supporter #2000! Now I feel special.

[–] atro_city@fedia.io 1 points 1 hour ago

👏👏👏

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 12 points 5 hours ago

Properly punishing US tech companies for their shenanigans would help too.

Proper antitrust enforcement would help literally everybody except the very wealthy - which is why they pour so many resources into preventing it. If you want to change things, support any politicians, policies, or public officials which take antitrust action (basically anybody who does what Lina Kahn has been doing for the past 4 years).

[–] NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io 5 points 5 hours ago

If there's a way for that to happen without just building equality abusive and exploitative mega corporations of similarly monopolistic scale, that seems like a very good thing.

These companies invented the important stuff before becoming abusive and exploitative mega corporations, so it should be possible in theory.

[–] jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de 15 points 6 hours ago (1 children)

Best our politicians can do is to give our money to Google, Microsoft, and Amazon to store all our data in the US.

If you don't like it you can let them know through any of Meta's social networks or X.

[–] atro_city@fedia.io 4 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

Vote for different people (Pirate Party for example), sign petitions like EU-Linux, use Linux and opensource yourself, and talk to your friends and family about it. Nothing will change if we do nothing.

[–] jmcs@discuss.tchncs.de 5 points 3 hours ago (1 children)

I once campaigned to have a law that says the Portuguese institutions have to use open standards to store information. The law is in the books for 13 years (and now I feel old), and very little changed because the organisations that were supposed to enforce it don't give a fuck.

[–] atro_city@fedia.io 1 points 1 hour ago

Good job! Keep going 👏 We need more people like you.

[+] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub -7 points 6 hours ago (2 children)

Ugh, more balkanization, protectionism and jingoism.

It's a bad idea for the US. It's also a bad idea for everyone else.

[–] 0x815@feddit.org 16 points 5 hours ago (1 children)

How is that 'protectionism' if you develop your own technology to gain independence? As someone already wrote in this thread, Europe can support Open Source projects, decentralization. That's good for everyone.

[–] NaibofTabr@infosec.pub 1 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 5 hours ago) (2 children)

Don't get me wrong, everybody should be trying to manufacture some microchips inside their own borders - access to microchips is a national security concern for every country.

How is that 'protectionism' if you develop your own technology to gain independence?

Any actions taken to promote domestic industry over foreign is protectionism, by definition. If a government encourages the growth of domestic producers via tax incentives, grants, tariffs, etc (anything that adjusts the balance really) that is literally protectionism.

[–] 0x815@feddit.org 1 points 21 minutes ago

@NaibofTabr@infosec.pub No, investing your money into your own hardware and software isn't protectionism. That's obviously the right thing to do, even more so with regard to the current geopolitical landscape.

[–] CyberEgg@discuss.tchncs.de 7 points 5 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago) (1 children)

Okay, you say anything that promotes securing domestic industries is protectionism. Fine.

But then you say protectionism is bad across the board but don't give any reason.

At least you need to give some arguments why protectionism that is constituted of securing critical infrastructure, providing safe(r) access to technology, developing independent, decentralised and open technology, etc would be worse than keeping sucking on the tits of US megacorps.

Why is the dependence on US tech corps different than the dependence on russian gas in the past (which I hope we can agree was bad)?

[–] anon6789@lemmy.world 1 points 38 minutes ago

I work for a UK based company in the US. We also have scientists from all over the world working together. I think everyone working together for common goals is the ideal situation. Communication with people across the globe is one of the things that rocketed humankind forward in learning and technology. We don't have pockets of people making the same mistakes and wasting the same time and resources trying to come up with all the new ideas; we get to collaborate. If we start hoarding knowledge and tech, we kick ourselves back to a worse point than where we are now.

I was watching a video this morning talking about China's advancements in space exploration. It was talking about China offering to work with other countries, including the US, but there was a bill passed (2011?) that forbid space work with China without congressional approval. That seems like something that will hurt the US space program. The creation of the bill was due to the thought that China was doing mainly "taking" from the US and not giving back, which I don't know enough to speak on, but now that China is in a position to "give," we've already pulled back our hand and tied it. We can't learn from China, and they can't learn from us, at least by legal/above the table means.

It's frustrating to see knowledge get locked away. I get there are valid and logical reasons to do it sometimes, but it is still sad to see. Most people here seem to be for or at least supportive of free information in almost every form, but then in situations like this, we fall back to nationalism for some reason or another.

It is good for countries to provide for themselves and their people, but when it starts to hinder another group is when we enter moral grey zones. When does it go from looking out for one's own interest to hurting another group? Everyone will have a different answer to that, but I hope most individuals would prefer to collaborate and work things out with each other. I think that is common among individuals. Most of us are probably annoying at about half the things our countries are doing at any moment, and potentially cutting ourselves off from equally dissatisfied people that could help us from other places feels like a net loss for all parties.