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I don't agree with what you say (Facebook and other large companies operate in the EU and I haven't heard of one avoiding EU law by hiding in the U.S.), but eve

• marcoperaza 11y ago
  Unless the EU is willing to resort to options 2 or 3 (which very obviously would require limiting the options/rights of Europeans), it will have to accept that is has no control over services with no legal presence in the EU. In proceeding with option 1, it would be creating a strong incentive for companies to find a friendlier jurisdiction, further exacerbating Europe's labor and entrepreneurial malaise. Yes, all of the big tech companies have European offices today, but 1) they're huge corporations that can afford regulatory compliance, and 2) they might not have opened those offices in the current regulatory climate. Access to the European labor market and datacenters, and the ability to have salesmen on the ground, might very well outweigh the costs (and foregone profits) of the EU's proposed data regulations, for some companies. But Europe, already over-burdened with regulations and taxes, as evidenced by stagnant growth and massive youth unemployment, is just digging itself into an ever-deeper hole. There is such thing as death by a thousand cuts.