The European Union is facing a “paradox of competition“, as the community tries to stimulate economic growth, but restrict the use of technology to achieve it. This opinion was expressed by Google's president of global affairs Kent Walker.
“We bring great value to Europe. Putting up walls that make it difficult to use some of the best technology in the world, especially as it is developing so quickly, would actually be counterproductive“, he told the British newspaper Financial Times (FT). Walker also called on Brussels to “achieve open digital sovereignty“, which would allow the community to “control key technologies“ and take advantage of the “best-in-class technology“.
According to him, American companies should work in partnership with European firms that can provide "local control, local storage of information" and ensure that Americans "comply with European requirements". Google is negotiating with the European Commission to resolve a number of cases under the EU's Digital Markets Act. He stressed that "progress has been made" on this issue.
Previously, Walker opposed the new set of rules that the European Union is developing to regulate the field of artificial intelligence.