Mark Scott might be right (Europe is fighting tech battle with one hand tied behind its back),
European rules may not create the best
climate for all-encompassing digital powers. At first glance, there are also
simple answers at hand: do we want to
tolerate a chinese-type surveillance state or adopt an american-type
business-is-all-that-counts mindset to be digital champions? Can we, on the
other hand, exclude Chinese (think Huawei) or U.S. (Google knows it all, Amazon
sells it all, etc.) giants and be digital champions only for ourselves, playing
by our own rules? The success of European rules also over Facebook and the like
- enter Maximian Schrems - means that we enjoy what these companies developed
on the back of the citizens of their countries but we are not able to conquer
their lands.
To give a more balanced answer, we need to step one step
back. Of course data are not the only force and not the only obstacle (see also in Politico),
let us, however, look at them. Data is (or are, if you are less orthodox in
language) the new oil, does it say. Power, however, is not in oil but in petrol
and petrochemicals. Similarly, the key to real success is what you do with
data. Researchers have found ways to link
profile and behavioural data without identifying the persons. One solution is proposed by Accenture, for example. This is
more complicated and may be more costly, but can use data of persons in areas
outside the U.S. and China, where the example of strict European data
protection rules are being followed - South-America, Japan, other parts of Asia
and Africa. This is a huge potential which we may lose if we just imitate and do
not create our own models.
