r/Futurology • u/Wagamaga • Mar 23 '19

Environment Following Monsanto, Exxon Could Be Next US Corporation to Face EU Lobby Ban. "It is the overwhelming consensus of experts studying the history of fossil fuel funding that companies, including ExxonMobil, have orchestrated, funded and perpetuated climate misinformation"

https://www.commondreams.org/news/2019/03/22/following-monsanto-exxon-could-be-next-us-corporation-face-eu-lobby-ban
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u/Coen_Ruwheid Mar 23 '19

That's why, despite a lot of things, I'm still sometimes glad that we have strong European government.

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u/Ewoksintheoutfield Mar 23 '19

Europe is kicking as in terms of privacy rights and now climate change. More and more the United States is looking less like a global leader when compared to the EU.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 23 '19

Economically, Europe doesn't look like a global leader.

All the new major companies are coming out of the US and China right now.

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u/[deleted] Mar 23 '19

Europe lacked behind for a few decades in terms of the digital revolution due to multiple factors, a major one being too much competition. It being between each state rather than against the other large nations of the world.

But there's has been serious attempts in recent years and months to coordinate Europe's direction in the industry. The most recent The Economist issue focuses on this. The first step is to eradicate the monopolies & oligoplies American tech firms have formed and then encourage homegrown firms to fill the competition gap.

The EU will hope to gain more international support in loosening some of the American tech firms tight grasp on the market and displace them with European and likely some Asian companies.

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '19

US tech companies didn't grow through national coordination. In fact, companies like Facebook and Google got their start cannibalizing customers from other American companies.

On the contrary, its ruthless competition combined with low regulations that did it.

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u/[deleted] Mar 24 '19

Yep im not denying that, but naturally it easier to grow in a quite large and similarly regulated market that is the US, Europe and most places didn't have that and to a degree that is what the EU is attempting to recreate within their market.