A Conversation with Marietje Schaake (Part I)

Marietje Schaake is a leading and influential voice in Europe on digital platforms and the digital economy. She is the founder of the European Parliament Intergroup on the Digital Agenda for Europe and has been a member of the European Parliament since 2009 representing the Dutch party D66 that is part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE) political group. Schaake is spokesperson for the center/right group in the European Parliament on transatlantic trade and digital trade, and she is Vice-President of the European Parliament ’s US Delegation. She has for some time advocated more regulation and accountability of the digital platforms.Recently, I sat down with Marietje Schaake in a caf é in the European Parliament in Brussels to talk about what’s on the agenda in Europe when it comes to digital platforms and possible regulation.FR:Digital platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Google have had a consistent message for European lawmakers: Regulation will stifle innovation. You have said that this is a losing strategy in Brussels. What do you mean by that?MS: I think it ’s safe to say that American big tech companies across the board have pushed back against regulation, and this approach is in line with the quasi-libertarian culture and outlook that we know well from Silicon Valley. It has benefited these companies that they have been free from regulation. They h ave been free not only from new regulation but also have had explicit exemptions from liabi...
Source: Cato-at-liberty - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs