Can European regulation boost global innovation? A thought experiment
Lunch with a friend had us laughing and lamenting over the EU, resulting in my quest to understand the continent better.
A few weeks ago I was having coffee with someone and we started talking about Europe as a tech hub.
“America has ChatGPT and China has DeepSeek. In Europe they’re sealing caps on their bottles,” he said, referencing a popular meme circulating the internet at the time.
I laughed. But I also cringed a bit. It’s true that Europe’s reputation as a tech and innovation hub is in the toilet. It over-regulates and under-innovates. It imposes drastic laws against free speech and scoffs at American exceptionalism and optimism. It is not an inspiration to those who wish to ‘move fast and break things.’
This made me sad, no small part because I am a product of Europe. I was born and raised in the UK and traveled freely across the continent in my youth. The UK is no longer part of the EU, but my heart and heritage are still part of the continent, to some degree.
Sure, there are widespread problems of anti-semitism and cultural conflicts plaguing the countries across the region, but my lunch was only long enough for so many conversations!
At the time I also happened to be reading “Beyond Data: Reclaiming Human Rights at the Dawn of the Metaverse” by Elizabeth M. Renieris”. It explores the history of privacy and how society failed to properly translate that into the digital space. Today it’s almost impossible to avoid being tracked as a consumer, and large tech companies will continue to lobby to exploit our online behaviours.
Depressing? Maybe. However, the book spends time discussing how Europe has been a pioneer in protecting these rights, most famously through legislation like GDPR and, more recently, the AI Act. Europe has a reputation as 'slogging' behind the US in terms of innovation, but its quick pace to protect citizens actually paves the way for long-term impact. Google and Meta may want to 'move fast and break things', but at the end of the day, they're answering to the European Commission.
It inspired me to research this particular topic in far more detail. I spoke to investors across Israel and Europe and conducted a thought experiment on myself: “What if Europe’s slow regulation indeed paved the way to long-term innovation?”
The resulting question was published in CTech this morning. The article explores this question and also shares insights on how Europe may be able to shed its reputations.
You can click below to read it.
Those who read it are encouraged to respond with their thoughts. Am I weirdly right, horribly wrong, or utterly delusional? Let me know - I would love to hear your thoughts.
Very often, it is joking around with friends and the tech/business community that inspires my story ideas as a journalist. So if you want to grab a coffee or Zoom with me to discuss your wild ideas, feel free to get in touch!