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Tech Giants Warn EU Proposal Could 'Fragment' Market, Shut Out U.S. Firms
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Technology

Tech Giants Warn EU Proposal Could 'Fragment' Market, Shut Out U.S. Firms

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • A tech industry association warned that the EU's proposal to reduce reliance on U.S. companies could lead to a fragmented market.
  • The EU aims to boost technological sovereignty by requiring data centers in Europe and European ownership of cloud service providers.
  • European tech firms, however, are pushing for more ambitious measures to bolster the continent's digital industry.

The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), representing major tech firms like Amazon, Google, and Meta, has voiced strong opposition to the European Commission's new proposal aimed at reducing the EU's digital dependency on U.S. companies. The association argues that the proposed measures will result in a "fragmented single market" and introduce "discriminatory measures that directly undermine the EU's digitalization goals."

will provoke a 'fragmented closure of the single market'.

— CCIADescribing the potential negative impact of the EU's proposal on the European market.

The European Commission's proposal seeks to enhance the EU's technological sovereignty, particularly in cloud computing services. Currently, the EU relies on non-EU providers for over 80% of its digital products, services, and infrastructure. The plan introduces four tiers of "technological sovereignty" for public procurement, requiring data centers to be located in Europe, implementing safeguards against foreign government access to data, ensuring European ownership of companies, and control over cloud services.

introduce discriminatory measures that directly undermine the EU's digitalization goals.

— CCIACriticizing the EU's proposed laws as harmful to the bloc's digital ambitions.

However, the CCIA contends that these requirements are unrealistic and that "the EU itself is incapable of meeting" them. The association urged the EU Council and Parliament to replace the proposed origin clauses with "verifiable technical security criteria." They believe the current approach risks creating a "protectionist wall" that hinders market access and innovation.

by default, non-EU providers will not be able to comply

— CCIAExplaining why the proposed tiers of technological sovereignty would exclude U.S. companies.

This stance contrasts sharply with the views of thirteen European tech companies, including Ecosia, Proton, and Mastodon. In a recent statement, these firms called for greater ambition from the EU to foster its domestic digital industry. They view the EU's technological dependencies not merely as vulnerabilities but as "strategic exposures in an era of tense geopolitical competition and technological decoupling."

protectionist wall

— CCIACharacterizing the EU's proposal as a barrier to free trade and competition.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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