Tech is more than social networks though
Europe is in danger of regulating its tech market out of existence
61–70 of 761 posts
Re: Europe is in danger of regulating its tech market out of existence
#62The real problem is that the requirements for a social platform are getting very onerous, to the point that it takes at least several engineers working full time on the problem. That really hurts a startup's ability to initially launch in the market, especially one with less VC money. (Certain BigCo new products can be thought of as a startup too, with limited budgets.) This doesn't just affect social media companies…
The requirements for social platforms are just becoming more inline with all other industries. The period of special treatment is over. The era of, “If it’s on social media then no one is liable for this content or the harm it may cause, but also I can still monetize it,” is over.
It is a welcome change, but not for those who mean to exploit the special status that “social media” and “apps” have been given all these years.
Re: Europe is in danger of regulating its tech market out of existence
#63Because the EU values their citizens privacy tech may leave. Personally I could live with that if that is the result of my privacy being protected.
> Otherwise businesses have no ability to plan for the future and investment stops. And then there is a 'chat control' every year pushed relentlessly. Thus no, not at all. EU doesn't value citizens privacy.
Chat control still has not passed, and GDPR arguably contains a few articles in favor of citizens privacy. I wouldn't say "not at all".
Re: Europe is in danger of regulating its tech market out of existence
#64Tech is more than social networks though
Yeah, it's advertising too.
Re: Europe is in danger of regulating its tech market out of existence
#65Apparently the author founded the "Center for New Liberalism". I tried to find out how that's funded, but could only see memberships that gives access to a 700+-person Slack, and couldn't find what the dues are. Would be interested in learning more about that, if anyone knows more.
Re: Europe is in danger of regulating its tech market out of existence
#66The real problem is that the requirements for a social platform are getting very onerous, to the point that it takes at least several engineers working full time on the problem. That really hurts a startup's ability to initially launch in the market, especially one with less VC money. (Certain BigCo new products can be thought of as a startup too, with limited budgets.) This doesn't just affect social media companies…
This can be said about any regulation that makes it more difficult to deliver a product. Are food safety regulations "onerous" because the food company has to hire several people to ensure their food is safe? A food startup who can't afford to hire those people might argue that they are at a disadvantage and therefore the regulations are onerous and favor large companies.
Re: Europe is in danger of regulating its tech market out of existence
#67I might be talking out of my depth, as I don’t live in Europe, but I’ve heard the same paraphrased headlines like these since at least 2016. Has status quo been swayed one way or another since then? Theoretically speaking, wouldn’t legislating away the top US players open the market to the local companies a la Naver in SK, WeChat in China or Line in Japan? I understand I’m dumbing it down, but assuming such legislati…
I’m living in Europe, I'm deeply disappointed by the current situation. The problems run much deeper than just regulations; they extend far beyond politics. 1. VCs outright avoid investing in deep tech, with only rare exceptions. 2. Founders overwhelmingly choose to build small, sustainable companies, steering clear of big tech. 3. Employees consistently prefer consulting jobs and value vacation days over equity. 4.…
Fair enough. Unless I misunderstood your point it sounds like, what you guys have right now is good for people and their lives. Isn't that the entire point of life? I can see why general population might support it, while us techies would be pushing for deregulation and less of work-life balance. So my understanding of these articles is "it might be bad in a long term!", but Europe is still big enough market for all these companies eventually bend over backwards to get access to it.
Again, really no skin in the game, as I don't live there and I only have limited amount of perspective, which comes from my European resident non-techie friends.
Re: Europe is in danger of regulating its tech market out of existence
#68Could articles like this bemoaning Europe's state of regulation be opinion pieces? What if what Europe does is a good idea for the people but just inconvenient for companies? Europe is one of the power houses of the world but with low self-esteem I am afraid. In the long term what matters is the people's quality of life and diversity. Take China or the US: if a lot of people don't have purchasing power and leisure wh…
Are you under the impression that people in the US don't have purchasing power? Also, Europe is a power house right now, but won't be a generation from now if trends continue. All forms of power are built on economic power or are a means to get economic power.
As an European, I heard that 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. I don't think our laws should focus on tech companies' freedom since it doesn't seem to improve the people's lives.
Re: Europe is in danger of regulating its tech market out of existence
#69It’s probably smarter to only kick-in regulations after certain size thresholds are met. You can definitely strangle an organization with paperwork before it even has enough money to hire people to do the paperwork.
Like the gatekeeper designation in the DMA, or the threshold for assigning a data privacy officer in GDPR, you mean?
Re: Europe is in danger of regulating its tech market out of existence
#70It’s probably smarter to only kick-in regulations after certain size thresholds are met. You can definitely strangle an organization with paperwork before it even has enough money to hire people to do the paperwork.
That's the case for most, if not all, of the new European regulations, such as the Digital Markets Act. The number of companies to which it applies can be counted on your hands, and they all have tens of billions of dollars of revenue.