An article I saw recently described the backlash against
social networks after a British Army soldier was killed by two extremists, one
of whom had discussed such an act 5 months before the murder took place. In the
particular case described, Facebook was the target of the discontent, with
several government organizations and security agencies expressing their concern
that such networks are becoming “[…] safe haven[s] for terrorists[…]”
As of
around four days ago, the EU parliament voted “yes” on a motion to break up
Google, an act that is purely symbolic in nature, but nonetheless expresses how
other countries feel about American enterprise as a whole.
I find
it interesting that the world is starting to take more notice of American
businesses and, in short, find them responsible for horrific events or
negatively impacting economies. In general, I feel that governments should not
be involved in economics, so I disagree with a European government or
organization trying to change any business, much less American ones, but I do
think that the people of those countries should be able to express their
opinions.
That
said, I feel that one of the biggest differences between countries is the idea
of how businesses should be run. For example, the EU may think that Google is a
monopoly, but the only legislature that would affect Google would be American,
and as of right now, few people in the United States feel that this measure is
necessary.
In the
case of Facebook, there was some criticism over the lack of policing of content
by the company, but many people in the United States and in the world believe
in the idea of an open internet with protected privacy. Regardless of Facebook’s
policies regarding monitoring of user content, there is a discrepancy between
public beliefs and desires in the United States and governmental or
organizational beliefs and desires outside.
To
summarize, as long as governments exist as they currently are, federal boundaries
water down proposed changes. As a side note, an example of this is Presidente
Pena Nieto in Mexico; several people outside of Mexico have requested a
resignation, but the pressure hasn’t built enough for him to resign.
Sources:
http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/european-monopoly-eu-parliament-urges-regulators-break-google-n257816
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