A Turning Point in the Oversight of Digital Platforms: A Challenge for American Leadership

Abstract

The last quarter of 2020 produced decisions in Brussels, London, and Washington that constitute a turning point in the relationship between the major digital platform companies and democratic societies. Recognizing all the good these companies produce, the different actions share a similar conclusion: that the social costs imposed by the digital companies have become too high. While there may be shared concerns about the unsustainable social and economic costs imposed by the dominant digital companies, the actions by the European Union and United Kingdom have reinforced how the European approaches to the problems of digital platforms are more direct and focused than have been those of the United States. This is a function of two factors. The E.U. and U.K. regulatory culture has been less in thrall to the non-interventionist orthodoxy that has dominated U.S. policy; thus, while the U.S. has effectively turned a blind eye, the Europeans have for several years been searching for effective solutions.