171–180 of 200 posts
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Try becoming a freelancer opening a company in Spain. Orders of magnitude harder than in the US, so for many recent grads is not a viable option at all.
Different EU countries have different contexts. In Sweden it is very easy.
I don't have anything against regulations and fines to keep monopolistic companies in check, but that being said, as an European, I can't help but feel a little appalled that there's so much focus on this and so little on actually creating European Googles and Facebooks.
> so little on actually creating European Googles and Facebooks How though?
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I'm not really interested in a European version of those companies. How would that be any better?
It would -- at least in theory -- be easier for the European peoples to regulate them so they act in their interests.
And you're back on square one. Instead I suggest vote with your dollar, choose a different service that better suits your needs than making more govt regulations (and infringing on everyone's rights)
I think this is a good step. EU countries should start fining and taxing these US tech companies heavily to force them out of business in the EU and leave room for local EU competitors. The EU should try to be more like China.
I'm sorry but that's bullshit. Almost by definition, whatever replacements would be created would be inferior to the banned originals. If you start using fines and taxes as instruments of protectionism, you've also become a country no longer ruled by laws, but by the arbitrary whims of whoever is in power. I already spend too much time online defending (for example) the EU's antitrust policy against accusations of na…
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It really isn't. Competition globally is better for consumers. Imagine if you had to drive only US cars to keep automotive knowledge local.
Monopolies are bad for consumers. The Chinese government is protecting Chinese markets from global monopolies (and also acting as the world's biggest innovation VC). Other countries have been asleep at the wheel and are only just starting to wake up with uber and airbnb. (Also the fact that fb has been caught targeting Kremlin propaganda to voters in foreign elections makes me wonder if they will get shuttered in a l…
The fact that the Chinese sanctioned companies become monopolies themselves is even more proof that it's about nationalism than protection from monopolies.
Make no mistake: this is a form of taxation. Our (i'm spanish) minister of economy has been very imaginative in the last 4 years to find new sources of revenue.
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What Facebook (or for that matter Google) does is not competition. They're far too large to really compete with when you're getting up and running. Everything that even gets close to something they do or might want to do gets bought out. I can't imagine anyone thinks such a situation is in the best interest of the user.
When they buy other companies, note: 1) It's a voluntary transaction and is not compulsory 2) They precisely buy because it would be harder to build it from scratch. Which refutes your claim that Google or FB can't be competed against. edit: formatting
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It seems that facebook saved information also about people without a facebook account each time they visit a web displaying a sort of 'like' buttons so even if you just browse those webs you may be watched and 'classified' by facebook (without agreing with any terms of contract document with facebook).
I think you do agree to a contract when you use free basics
For example, lets suppose that you visit your favourite digital newspaper. After reading an article or a howto you see a "like this article?/was this howto useful?/Send us your feedback" button. It seems (I can't confirm it so I could be wrong, just hear it on the TV news yesterday), that facebook was saving silently all this info about preferences from lots of people that aren't neither facebook users nor visiting facebook forums and webs
If we thing about it, wouldn't be much different than to put a creepy guy near the door of a supermarket recording all that you buy to sell all this info later.