"The Brussels effect came into being by accident. EU rules are the end point of compromises between its various governments, and so often suitable to countries beyond the bloc, too, which sometimes copy-and-paste whatever Europe has done. Already the system is fraying at the edges. The new rules, whether on AI or data privacy, fall most heavily on Big Tech groups, of which Europe has none. Could the EU really, for example, demand that a tech giant be broken up on antitrust grounds? How would Mr Musk and his pal in the White House react?
Silicon Valley tech giants are delaying launches of some products in the European market, such as AI assistants, ostensibly to give themselves time to obey the bloc’s cumbersome regulations. The suggestion is clear: Europe is shrinking as a share of global GDP, and they can live without it if its rules are annoying. The message may be getting through. On November 12th the proposed new EU commissioner overseeing tech, Henna Virkkunen, told the European Parliament that new laws are “not the answer to everything” and that policies to bolster innovation might be needed instead. That sounds like something Mr Musk could have said."
https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/11/14/elon-musk-threatens-to-deepen-the-rift-between-europe-and-america
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