Today’s major tech platforms operate in something of a regulatory grey zone: too powerful to be reined in by traditional antitrust tools, yet too central to national economies to be challenged without geopolitical consequences.
The European Union, through instruments such as the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, has sought to bring order to this “lawless realm,” but faces an increasingly pressing dilemma: how can it act against the monopolistic power of tech giants — largely American — without this being perceived as protectionism and triggering trade retaliation, tariffs, or diplomatic friction with Washington?
This panel tackles this critical issue at the intersection of economic policy and regulation, asking what legal, institutional, and enforcement tools Europe can deploy to rebalance its relationship with Big Tech without turning digital regulation into a battleground for trade conflict. The discussion will explore the fine line between legitimate regulatory sovereignty and the risk of escalation, situating the power of today’s tech corporations within a broader historical trajectory of economic concentration that predates — and extends beyond — the digital dimension alone.
The session will equip the audience with the tools to understand the tensions between regulation, trade geopolitics, and corporate power in today’s global economic order.
