The European Union’s commitment to “digital sovereignty” and holding multinational “Big Tech” companies to account is laudable, but its practical solutions are in danger of restricting, and not enhancing, online freedoms.
The internet dominates modern life. For decades now, it has been a source of unparalleled opportunities for commercial enterprises seeking to reach new customers and news organisations attempting to link up readers with information across the globe. It has empowered those wishing to connect to global markets, and it has enabled monopolising multinationals to operate across rival legal jurisdictions. Perhaps no other development defines better the tensions which exist between the traditional, territory-bound authorities and global organisations than the ways in which information can travel across national borders within seconds.
