> This attitude toward freedom of speech and data in the EU is one reason why startups don't prosper as well there. This is the sort of assertion (along with q

> This attitude toward freedom of speech and data in the EU is one reason why startups don't prosper as well there. This is the sort of assertion (along with quite a few others in your comment) which seems likely to be merely a nice story. To actually believe that it's true, I'd want to see evidence. In particular, your idea that concerns with privacy are due to people trusting government more in the EU than in the USA seems entirely wrong headed. The concern for privacy in Germany comes from a distrust of centralised data collection because they have experienced it and know how bad it gets, not because they feel more comfortable with data controlled by the government.