“European Tech Leaders Push for ‘Europe-First’ Approach to Challenge U.S. Big Tech After Trump Re-election”
By, Rita Uzuh
November 18, 2024
LISBON, Portugal — European tech leaders are advocating for a “Europe-first” approach to technology to reduce reliance on U.S. companies and counter the dominance of Big Tech, particularly in critical fields like artificial intelligence, following Donald Trump’s re-election. At the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, top tech CEOs urged European countries to intensify efforts to develop homegrown tech solutions and assert greater independence.
Andy Yen, CEO of Swiss VPN provider Proton, emphasized that Europe should mirror America’s own protectionist stance, saying, “It’s time for Europe to step up… because we now have a leader in the U.S. that is ‘America-first,’ so I think our European leaders should be ‘Europe-first.’” Yen pointed to a 20-year trend where U.S. tech giants have captured global markets in key areas from web browsers to smartphones.
Proton and other European tech firms are particularly concerned about the concentration of power held by U.S. firms like Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta. The European Union has long aimed to curb this dominance with regulatory efforts, such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which has promoted competition. Mitchell Baker, former CEO of the Mozilla Foundation, cited the DMA’s impact on Firefox’s Android market share after Google was compelled to include a “choice screen” that allowed users to select their preferred search engine.
Thomas Plantenga, CEO of Lithuania-based resale app Vinted, also stressed the importance of Europe creating its own technology ecosystem. “We have a lot of very talented, well-educated people,” Plantenga said, adding that Europe must take steps to “fend for ourselves” and avoid being “left behind.”
As Europe contemplates a stronger stance, its tech leaders are wary of potential political pushback from the incoming Trump administration, which they believe may favor an aggressive, America-first tech policy. European CEOs remain committed, however, to pushing for policies that could shift the tech landscape toward a more competitive and independent Europe.
