Why Does Europe Hate Tech Giants?

Statistics show that 19 out of 20 Europeans use Google when they search for something on the web. EU Commissioner for Competition Margareta Vestager, however, is not among them. She uses the competing search engine Qwant, which claims that does not collect personal data from users for a commercial purpose.

She does not use Google Maps, Gmail, or any other Alphabet product because she believes there are other alternatives that "do not violate her personal space.''

She also said that people do not realize the price they pay by using the services of big internet companies.

"You may not pay in cash when you like a picture or ask Alexa how much a glass of oil weighs, but actually for the so-called" free "services you use, you pay with your personal life," she says.

It is not the only one that concerns suspicion about major technology companies such as Alphabet, Apple, Amazon and Facebook.
Their growing influence and the huge database they are working on has led governments on both sides of the Atlantic to tighten regulation over the past few years.

There is another problem in Europe - the administration thinks that US giants do not pay enough taxes on the Old Continent.

Concerns also exist about content control, as was the case with the distribution of the video of the terrorist attack in Christchurch. Many people think that social networks should have tools to restrict such messages.

Critics are of the opinion that technology giants are giving consumers a rigorous insight into their rights and, by definition, guaranteeing the privacy of their personal data, but in practice, it is not always the case.

If this issue is tied to anti-trust legislation and regulators get the opportunity to impose larger financial...