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Depends on what region we're talking about. In the EU, it does seem like politicians have the upper hand, but in the US, neither of our two major political part

Depends on what region we're talking about. In the EU, it does seem like politicians have the upper hand, but in the US, neither of our two major political parties (Democrat and Republican) have taken any concrete steps to regulate the tech giants despite a bunch of rhetoric. There are several reasons: - A non-trivial number of lawmakers are holding stock investments in tech - Good luck getting re-elected if said regulation affects growth and crashes the economy - Good luck getting re-elected if you get on the wrong side of the largest advertising companies in the world. What are they going to do, run campaign ads in the newspaper?

littlecranky67 5y ago
> In the EU, it does seem like politicians have the upper hand, but in the US, neither of our two major political parties (Democrat and Republican) I don't think in the EU the politicians have "the upper hand", they work exactly as in the US. The difference is that all those digital giants pay taxes (and employ people who do so) mostly in the US, so you can't touch em. EU politicians are free to impose restrictions since we don't have this industry on our side of the lawn.
- jltsiren 5y ago
  Another difference is that most European countries have multi-party systems. One of the key divisions is between the establishment (social democrat, christian democrat, etc.) and the activists (green, liberal left, populist right, conservative nationalist, etc.). While the establishment pays more attention to corporate interests, the activists are often ideologically opposed to them. If the establishment pays too much attention, it may lose seats to the activists. In US politics, the establishment/activist division occurs within parties rather than between them. The first-past-the-post system makes it difficult for the minority faction to gain a significant number of seats, until there is phase shift and the minority suddenly becomes the majority. That's arguably what happened to Republicans, but it's too early to say if the shift has had an effect on their stance towards corporations.
  - ClumsyPilot 5y ago
    First past the post system is really hurting UK and US, removing it would reduce divisions and improve society
  - littlecranky67 5y ago
    As a German, I don't buy into that. No matter what party, no one ever touches the automotive industry, as it would be detrimental to your next election results.

littlecranky67 5y ago

> In the EU, it does seem like politicians have the upper hand, but in the US, neither of our two major political parties (Democrat and Republican) I don't think in the EU the politicians have "the upper hand", they work exactly as in the US. The difference is that all those digital giants pay taxes (and employ people who do so) mostly in the US, so you can't touch em. EU politicians are free to impose restrictions since we don't have this industry on our side of the lawn.

jltsiren 5y ago
Another difference is that most European countries have multi-party systems. One of the key divisions is between the establishment (social democrat, christian democrat, etc.) and the activists (green, liberal left, populist right, conservative nationalist, etc.). While the establishment pays more attention to corporate interests, the activists are often ideologically opposed to them. If the establishment pays too much attention, it may lose seats to the activists. In US politics, the establishment/activist division occurs within parties rather than between them. The first-past-the-post system makes it difficult for the minority faction to gain a significant number of seats, until there is phase shift and the minority suddenly becomes the majority. That's arguably what happened to Republicans, but it's too early to say if the shift has had an effect on their stance towards corporations.
- ClumsyPilot 5y ago
  First past the post system is really hurting UK and US, removing it would reduce divisions and improve society
- littlecranky67 5y ago
  As a German, I don't buy into that. No matter what party, no one ever touches the automotive industry, as it would be detrimental to your next election results.