European efforts to curb US tech giants hinge on the election results and the future of antitrust advocate Lina Khan.
FOR EUROPE, THE result of the upcoming US election will have significant implications. NATO funding is in jeopardy, along with a possible peace agreement between Russia and Ukraine. Forecasts indicate that a trade conflict with Donald Trump might reduce GDP in the largest economy of the bloc, Germany, by 1.5 percent. The future of large technology firms, in contrast, is a distraction—but a tense one. During President Joe Biden’s administration, a new phase of conflict emerged with companies such as Meta, Microsoft, and Nvidia, all of which encountered legal challenges while he served in office. A plan to dismantle Google is still awaiting a decision.
In contrast to several other regions globally dominated by US technology, US companies heed the European Union when it establishes new regulations. During the Biden administration, the EU discovered a supporter for its goals to regulate major technology companies, according to Max von Thun, who is the director of Europe and transatlantic partnerships at the Open Markets Institute. “During Trump’s administration or even under [former president Barack] Obama, there was a sense that if the EU overstepped, the US would react,” von Thun clarifies, indicating that regulators believed forcing companies to dismantle their operations was not an option. “While under Biden, as the US is seeking those kinds of solutions, the EU believes, we can do that as well.”
A lot of people in Brussels wish for that alignment to persist. The majority of Europeans rely on American search engines, browse American social media platforms, and purchase from American ecommerce websites. There has been ongoing worry that the supremacy of the big five—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft—is hindering competition in Europe and disadvantaging consumers. This concern extends beyond just EU regulators. According to Democratic pollster Lake Research Partners, it is also capturing the attention of everyday Americans. A poll of 600 probable voters in seven key battleground states and Ohio revealed that 67 percent view corporate influence—and the absence of government resistance—as one of the nation’s major issues. Through the newly enacted Digital Markets Act, Europe has signaled its aim to curtail the influence of tech giants. Implementing those new regulations, however, would be considerably simpler with American support.
The political landscape of big tech in this election is chaotic. Silicon Valley giants are divided between Democrats and Republicans. During their campaigns, both Trump and Kamala Harris have been ambiguous regarding how they would oversee the largest companies in the world. Trump has alluded, somewhat ambiguously, that “something” ought to be done regarding Google, to ensure the company is “more equitable.” Harris, on the other hand, has not yet commented on whether she aligns with the characterization by Democratic megadonor and LinkedIn cofounder Reid Hoffman, who described the Federal Trade Commission’s antitrust policy as a “war on American business.”
It is uncertain how much Harris would maintain Biden’s somewhat confrontational strategy. Biden departed from the policies of his own vice president, Obama, who responded to European criticism of Google and Facebook by labeling the bloc as protectionist, stating that European firms “cannot compete.” Harris has made few remarks on antitrust issues, though she has consistently shown interest in data protection. “I believe Facebook has seen substantial growth and has placed its expansion above the interests of its users—particularly regarding privacy concerns,” she stated during a CNN interview in 2019. When pressed about the possibility of breaking up the company, she replied: “Yes, I believe we ought to carefully consider that.”
However, major tech advocates in Brussels have been meticulously monitoring Harris’ connections to Silicon Valley. Her brother-in-law, Tony West, who serves as a close advisor, is the chief legal officer for Uber. The company revealed in August that he would be going on an unpaid leave of absence to concentrate on the campaign. Google lawyer Karen Dunn has been associated with Harris and coached her for the ABC debate held last month.
“From my perspective, Harris presents a moderate risk similar to Obama [repeat] regarding major tech issues,” notes Umberto Gambini, a former European Parliament staffer with 15 years of experience, who maintains a photo on his phone of the 2015 Financial Times cover showcasing Obama’s critique of Europe’s tech regulations. Gambini, currently a partner at consultancy Forward Global, emphasizes that does not imply he would support Trump. However, with Harris, he would anticipate a revival of an Obama-like recognition of the Valley.
Concerns about Harris’ connections to Silicon Valley have nearly turned into “a meme,” according to a think tank official who prefers to stay unnamed. He adds that the contrary point to consider is that it is Trump’s running mate, JD Vance—not Harris—who has commended FTC chair and antitrust advocate Lina Khan for “doing a pretty good job.”
However, Vance is also connected to the tech sector—he worked for two years at Mithril Capital, a venture capital firm co-established by billionaire Peter Thiel, who subsequently backed Vance’s Senate campaign—and there is considerable doubt regarding his intentions. “They’ve effectively utilized the language and narrative to challenge big tech,” states Frederike Kaltheuner, senior EU and global governance lead at the AI Now Institute, referring to Vance’s supporters. The Trump campaign has proposed limiting the tech giants as a means to penalize them for supposed bias against conservatives. “When corporations such as Facebook and Google are censoring American citizens and obstructing their ability to engage in the political process, it represents a significant issue,” Vance stated to CNBC in September, referencing Google’s purchase of YouTube in 2006 as an illustration. “I believe there needs to be an antitrust resolution for it.”
Historically, Trump has not supported Europe’s stance on major tech, calling EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager in a 2019 Fox interview “a woman in Europe … [who] dislikes the United States.” His issue wasn’t that the tech giants faced lawsuits—“we ought to be suing Google and Facebook”—but that it was the EU initiating them. “They render it extremely … nearly unfeasible to conduct two-way business,” he remarked then.
Vestager will cease to head Europe’s antitrust strategy when her successor is appointed in November. Nevertheless, she departs with a symbol of transatlantic technological partnership in Washington. In the office of the FTC chair sits a knitted toy elephant, a gift to Khan from Vestager, who regularly gave them as presents. Vestager has consistently referred to Khan as a partner. “She remarked in 2021 about Khan and Jonathan Kanter, the antitrust head at the US Department of Justice, saying, ‘We share a lot of common ground in our thinking.'”
With varied signals from the Trump and Harris campaigns, whether Khan will be substituted post-election will be viewed in Brussels as a sign of the direction the new administration will pursue regarding big tech. It’s uncertain whether Khan—who has appeared alongside Democrats on the campaign trail—would collaborate with Republicans, despite Vance commending her strategy. Her team chose not to comment on whether she would work in a Trump administration.
It is also uncertain if she can remain in her position under Harris. Khan’s destiny has divided the Democrats. Progressives, such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are advocating for Khan to remain in position. “Senator Bernie Sanders praised Lina, stating she is doing an outstanding job safeguarding consumers from being exploited by large corporations and protecting workers.” However, donors have demanded her resignation. “Lina Khan is … someone who is not assisting America,” cofounder Hoffman said to CNN in July. Billionaire business magnate Mark Cuban has since reiterated those remarks. “Trying to dismantle the largest tech companies jeopardizes our potential to excel in artificial intelligence,” he stated, adding that if he were Harris, he would not retain Khan. Among big tech’s opponents in Brussels, there is an increasing awareness of how effectively the big tech collaboration of the last four years benefited them, just as it is concluding. In the post-Biden era, they can merely wish that the knitted elephant stays in its position.
