Casino
Bureaucracy is a luxury that tariffs make more expensive.
Zuckerberg Tries to Enlist Trump in Fight Against Meta EU Ruling
The EU treatment of US technology companies is a tariff, in practice, right down to the 2% of global revenue penalty.
‘In recent weeks, in one of Zuckerberg’s first specific asks since Trump took office, Meta executives have pressed U.S. trade officials to fight against an expected European Union fine and cease-and-desist order, people familiar with the conversations said.
‘The expected decision relates to whether Meta should be forced to give Facebook and Instagram users the option of accessing those services free without seeing personalized ads, something that would undercut the main way Meta makes money.’
Europe’s GDPR privacy law is headed for red tape bonfire within ‘weeks’
Tariffs make regulation more expensive to maintain.
‘Europe's most famous technology law, the GDPR, is next on the hit list as the European Union pushes ahead with its regulatory killing spree to slash laws it reckons are weighing down its businesses.
‘The European Commission plans to present a proposal to cut back the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR for short, in the next couple of weeks. Slashing regulation is a key focus for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, as part of an attempt to make businesses in Europe more competitive with rivals in the United States, China and elsewhere.
‘The EU's executive arm has already unveiled packages to simplify rules around sustainability reporting and accessing EU investment. The aim is for companies to waste less time and money on complying with complex legal and regulatory requirements imposed by EU laws.’
The EU thought they could be the world’s regulator. Or at least, they thought they could confer a competitive advantage upon European firms (accustomed to onerous regulation).
Things that sounded like a good idea at the time for 500, Alex.
‘The "Brussels Effect " is collapsing. For years, the EU thought it could prosper by being the world's n°1 regulator. This was a mistake, and the EU is now seeking to pare back key regulations while ditching plans for others.’
Germany warns against EU hitting Big Tech in retaliation to Trump tariffs
EU confronts its constraints in this difficult time.
‘“We simply have to be cautious with digital corporations because we have no real alternatives to the offering by the American digital industry,” said German finance minister Jörg Kukies, mentioning data centres for cloud services and artificial intelligence.
’ “There are products where the ability to substitute from other services and other goods from other regions of the world is easy, and there are sectors where it is more difficult,” he said ahead of a meeting of European finance ministers in Warsaw to discuss the economic impacts of trade tensions.
‘Kukies said that the bloc should prepare retaliatory measures, but added: “We just have to be nuanced and differentiated.”’
UK to dilute rules for smaller private equity firms and hedge funds
Regulation is a luxury.
‘The UK government has set out plans to water down rules for private equity and hedge funds by introducing a lighter regulatory regime for smaller groups to encourage more investment.
‘The Treasury on Monday announced that it would lift the size threshold for which alternative asset managers are subjected to the main rules for the sector, from €100mn of funds under management to £5bn.
‘A new, less onerous post-Brexit regime will be introduced for groups with between £100mn and £5bn of assets, which the Treasury hopes will save them time and money and enhance the UK’s position as dominant hub for private equity and hedge funds in Europe.’