American Domination of the Net: A Preliminary Ethnographic Exploration of Causes, Economic Implications for Europe, and Future Prospects

Abstract

European executives largely agree that American operators of online platforms dominate online business in the EU. There is less consensus on the reasons for American domination and on the possible economic consequences of this domination for the growth of EU business, for employment, for the strength of the EU economies, or for the national security of individual EU member states. With a series of interviews with German executives in a range of industries we examine opinions of the causes of American domination of the net, the current consequences, and the potential for future economic harm. We develop a set of hypotheses, which can be examined with a larger survey and with econometric analysis.