Last month, Donald Trump lashed out at the EU, asserting at his administration’s first cabinet meeting that the bloc “was formed to screw the United States” (“Trump’s threat of 25% tariffs on EU goods heightens fears over trade war”, Report, February 27).
The EU may try to live up to this description and offer Canada the opportunity to join the EU.
More likely, the EU may consider regulating social media and artificial intelligence to ensure free opinion formation.
The problem with these social media companies is they promote polarising opinions since users of social media get exposed to one-sided information because of the algorithms that use search history as the benchmark.
Your columnist Martin Sandbu has argued that the EU “needs the courage to imagine a different digital economy” (Opinion, February 10).
The EU could consider imposing on all social media companies the requirement that they purge the users’ search history so that individual users of social media are exposed to the relevant facts, a range of arguments and informed opinions.
In addition, the EU may fine social media companies heavily should they allow trolls to manipulate free opinion formation. Such measures would enhance the potential for competing tech firms headquartered in the EU.
After all, the EU currently imports almost 100 per cent of these services from the US and China and, at some point, a better balance must be struck.
Jan Bouwens
Professor of Accounting, Amsterdam Business School, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
