How the EU can punish Google (regardless of Trump): Grant me the braveness to vary the issues I can.
Hey take a look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Chilling Results; Billy Bragg v Myspace; Glenn Beck calls murdered Norwegian youngsters “Hitler Youth”; Photog sues Getty for $1b copyfraud; Finest paid CEOs carry out worst; Olympics v “Olympics”; Alberta tar sands v “sizzling lesbians”; IoT safety apocalypse; 3 Little Pigs in pidgin; The nasty social gathering; Copyright extortionist infringed fellow extortionist; Grandpa mobbed for photographing grandson in park; Ice Bucket Problem did not remedy ALS; Twiddling enshittifies your mind.
Upcoming appearances: Edinburgh, Sydney, Melbourne, Brighton, London, South Bend.
Current appearances: The place I have been.
Newest books: You retain readin’ em, I am going to maintain writin’ ’em.
Upcoming books: Like I stated, I am going to maintain writin’ ’em.
Colophon: All the remaining.
The “Serenity Prayer” (Serenity to simply accept issues I can not change/Braveness to vary the issues I can/Knowledge to know the distinction) is often cited as pop psychology or dependancy restoration recommendation, however I believe there’s a spot for it in policymaking.
Take the EU’s battle in opposition to US Large Tech. Throughout the Biden years, the EU’s tech coverage matured into one thing critical and bold, culminating within the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Providers Act (DSA), a pair of massive, muscular insurance policies that may curb Large Tech’s most abusive conduct. The EU’s ambition did not happen in a vacuum: it was a part of a worldwide wave of antitrust fervor whose prime agenda merchandise was reining in tech:
https://pluralistic.web/2025/06/28/mamdani/#trustbusting
On this battle, the EU had necessary companions everywhere in the world. For instance, South Korea and Japan used the information uncovered by means of EU enforcement motion in opposition to Google and Apple to pursue comparable instances:
https://pluralistic.web/2024/04/10/an-injury-to-one/#is-an-injury-to-all
However the EU’s most necessary associate in its battle in opposition to American Large Tech was America. Biden’s trustbusters – Lina Khan, Rohit Chopra, Jonathan Kanter, Tim Wu, et al – have been each bit as critical about Large Tech energy as anybody within the EU. In any case, the American public are at all times the primary victims of any new tech rip-off, and America is the one nation with a big, prosperous inhabitants who lack trendy, complete client privateness safety, making Individuals extremely prized prey for tech corporations:
https://pluralistic.web/2025/04/23/zuckerstreisand/#zdgaf
With America and the EU on the identical aspect of the tech battle, the world had a combating probability. Tech knew this, which is why Large Tech backed Trump laborious in the course of the 2024 election and aggressively curried his favor after he received. From the tech barons who paid $1m every to sit down behind Trump on the inaugural dais to the tens of millions tech corporations donated to Trump’s Epstein Ballroom on the White Home, tech has made it clear that it helps something Trump needs to do, supplied he shields Large Tech from any try to restrict their capability to spy on and steal from Individuals and the world.
Even earlier than he took workplace, Trump made it clear how he would reward tech’s loyalty: weeks earlier than the inauguration, Trump went to Davos and threatened the EU with reprisals in the event that they enforced the DSA or DMA in opposition to his tech corporations:
Trump’s not happy with how EU regulators have treated US tech giants
Trump wasted no time leaning on US buying and selling companions on behalf of Large Tech. He bullied Canadian PM Mark Carney into dropping his plan to tax US tech corporations. Large Tech makes use of a wide range of tax-cheating gambits to evade taxation world wide, making it unimaginable for (tax-paying) home corporations to compete:
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/information/2025/06/canada-rescinds-digital-services-tax-to-advance-broader-trade-negotiations-with-the-united-states.html
Trump additionally acquired UK PM Keir Starmer to drop his plan to tax tech:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/apr/01/starmer-offered-big-us-tech-firms-tax-cuts-in-return-for-lower-trump-tariffs
And he acquired the EU to roll again its plan to control AI:
https://fortune.com/2025/11/07/eu-ai-act-weaken-regulation-delay-big-tech-trump-government/
Not one of the governments that caved to Trump acquired something in return. As I’ve written:
Give Trump every thing he asks for and he’ll demand extra. Deny Trump something and he’ll demand extra. Signal a contract with Trump and he’ll break it. Ship Trump an bill and he’ll stiff you. For Trump, “the artwork of the deal” could be summed up in a single phrase: renege.
https://pluralistic.web/2026/07/22/table-flipper/#graveyard-of-indispensable-nations
Working example: after the EU surrendered to Trump on AI regulation, Trump introduced {that a} on ban EU officers who had labored on the Digital Providers Act from touring to the USA:
https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/12/announcement-of-actions-to-combat-the-global-censorship-industrial-complex/
Then, after the EU made extra concessions to Trump, he introduced a ban on much more EU officers:
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-trump-administration-targets-europe-s-content-moderation-laws
Trump ordered his tech giants to dig by means of EU officers’ personal correspondence so he can determine who to ban subsequent:
https://www.politico.eu/article/us-congress-judiciary-committee-big-tech-private-communication-eu-officials/
Trump’s tech corporations acquired the memo. When the EU ordered Apple to observe the legislation, Apple advised the EU to fuck off:
https://pluralistic.web/2024/02/06/spoil-the-bunch/#dma
In any case, Apple is a key associate within the Trump administration’s mass deportations. Apple blocked an iPhone app that warns Apple clients in the event that they’re about to be kidnapped or murdered by ICE. Trump wants Apple, simply as a lot as Apple wants Trump:
https://pluralistic.web/2025/10/06/rogue-capitalism/#orphaned-syrian-refugees-need-not-apply
Regardless of this, the EU retains making an attempt to implement its legal guidelines in opposition to Trump’s corporations. Final week, the Fee introduced a $1b high-quality in opposition to Google for violating the Digital Providers Act with conduct that value Europeans many billions:
https://digital-markets-act.ec.europa.eu/commission-fines-google-eur890-million-breaches-digital-markets-act-2026-07-23_en
In different phrases, Google wasn’t even being ordered to disgorge all the cash it stole, simply a few of it. Bear in mind, a high-quality is a value: the EU’s high-quality right here will solely make this type of dishonest barely much less worthwhile.
Nonetheless, Trump responded instantly by threatening the EU with many billions extra in tariffs in the event that they proceed to aim to implement the legislation in opposition to one among his corporations:
https://www.lemonde.fr/en/worldwide/article/2026/07/24/trump-says-eu-to-pay-very-big-price-for-890-million-google-fine_6755804_4.html
Trump, the European Fee and Google all know that is about multiple $1b high-quality. The DSA and DMA each present for steeply rising fines and different penalties for repeat offenders, and Google clearly has no plan to finish its very worthwhile European crime-spree. Trump’s threats aren’t a bid to kill this enforcement – Trump needs to kill all enforcement.
Retaliatory tariffs aren’t the one weapon Trump has at his disposal. If the EU (or some other nation) levies a critical high-quality in opposition to Google, Apple, Oracle, Microsoft, or any of Trump’s different tech corporations, Trump can order US banks to not flip over these fines, even after the EU sends them a court docket order for the cash. If a financial institution defies Trump, he can threaten to yank its constitution. Or he may simply run the identical swindle he pulled on Tiktok: stealing the entire firm and promoting it to one among his buddies, who will run it the way in which Trump needs.
The fact is that with out America’s help, the EU has valuable little hope of forcing American corporations to do issues they do not wish to do. When it comes to the Serenity Prayer, that is “a factor they can not change.”
The Serenity Prayer would not cease with “issues you may’t change.” The subsequent line seeks “the braveness to vary the issues I can.” The EU has no management over Google’s conduct, nevertheless it has complete management over its personal conduct.
Particularly, the EU may do away with the legal guidelines that ban European corporations from modifying US tech exports. The EU adopted the Copyright Directive in 2001. Article 6 of the EUCD makes it against the law to reverse-engineer and modify a tool with out the producer’s permission. This legislation was adopted underneath stress from the US Commerce Consultant, who threatened the EU with tariffs on its exports until it adopted an “anticircumvention rule” that banned EU technologists from making merchandise that allow Europeans forestall US tech corporations from stealing their cash and knowledge”:
https://pluralistic.web/2026/01/01/39c3/#the-new-coalition
This legislation remains to be in pressure within the EU, even though Trump (predictably) reneged on the US aspect of the cut price, hitting the EU with huge tariffs and even threatening to steal a part of Denmark.
Article 6 of the Copyright Directive is the rationale European tech corporations cannot jailbreak America’s apps, whether or not that is to get its authorities and company knowledge off of US platforms:
https://pluralistic.web/2025/10/15/freedom-of-movement/#data-dieselgate
Or to change American social media apps to respect EU privateness legal guidelines:
https://pluralistic.web/2026/01/30/zucksauce/#gandersauce
The EU cannot management what Apple or Google do. However the EU can completely resolve whether or not Trump’s corporations can use Europe’s courts to destroy European corporations that defend the privateness and financial integrity of the European folks.
If the EU kills off Article 6 of the Copyright Directive, they’ll use European corporations to carry Google and Apple’s faulty tech exports into compliance with European legislation. Not like Trump’s corporations, these corporations could be pressured to pay their taxes and respect their customers’ privateness, labor and client rights.
That is the Serenity Prayer’s “knowledge to know the distinction.”
#25yrsago Chilling Results https://net.archive.org/net/20010801172448/http://eon.legislation.harvard.edu/chill/
#25yrsago 13-year-old hacker’s e book deal: “The Unofficial Information to Moral Hacking” https://net.archive.org/net/20011102164905/http://www.vnunet.com/Information/1124279
#20yrsago France’s new copyright legislation slaughters kills use and open supply https://net.archive.org/net/20060812223624/http://soufron.typhon.web/spip.php?article150
#20yrsago Billy Bragg will get MySpace’s phrases of service modified https://net.archive.org/net/20100809150257/http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=weblog.view&friendID=34570397&blogID=137856388&MyToken=626131d4-c695-42ba-867b-754b9e2bfeaa
#15yrsago Purchase an Previous West city in South Dakota for $0.8M https://net.archive.org/net/20110728012824/https://version.cnn.com/2011/US/07/27/south.dakota.city.sale/index.html
#15yrsago Glenn Beck compares murdered Norway campers to “Hitler Youth” https://www.latimes.com/archives/blogs/top-of-the-ticket/story/2011-07-25/opinion-glenn-beck-hits-new-low-compares-norway-victims-to-hitler-youth
#15yrsago 3 Little Pigs rendered into Papua New Guinea pidgin https://www.abc.web.au/reslib/200709/r184705_686227.mp3
#15yrsago Why they name the Tories “the nasty social gathering” https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/jul/28/tory-lib-dems-clash-on-policy
#15yrsago US ISP/copyright deal: a one-sided personal legislation for firms, with out public curiosity https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2011/07/graduated-response-deal-what-if-users-had-been
#15yrsago Copyright extortionist ripped off his competitor’s threatening materials https://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-lawyers-rip-off-work-from-competitor-110727/
#15yrsago Karl Schroeder: Science fiction versus structured research of the longer term, sf as aspiration https://www.antipope.org/charlie/blog-static/2011/07/beyond-prediction.html
#15yrsago Norwegian PM refuses to let terrorist assaults drive his nation to intolerance and paranoid “safety” https://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/28/world/europe/28norway.html?_r=1
#15yrsago Man with digicam in park who fled offended guardian sought by police (seems he was taking pix of his grandson) https://net.archive.org/net/20110829052009/https://pixiq.com/article/man-photographing-grandkid-in-park-deemed-suspicious
#10yrsago Laurie Penny on the DNC: “Dissent won’t be tolerated. Protest won’t be permitted.” https://medium.com/welcome-to-the-scream-room/bad-moon-rising-8cd348df50e9#.9lhcixjn1
#10yrsago The Ice Bucket Problem didn’t fund a breakthrough in ALS therapy https://net.archive.org/net/20160914225439/http://www.healthnewsreview.org/2016/07/ice-bucket-challenge-breakthrough-experts-pour-cold-water-superficial-reporting/
#10yrsago Silicon Valley banks provide tech giants’ new hires 100% mortgages on 24 hours’ discover https://net.archive.org/net/20160727095557/http://www.bloomberg.com/information/articles/2016-07-27/zero-down-on-a-2-million-house-is-no-problem-in-silicon-valley
#10yrsago Patent fighters assault the crown jewels of three of America’s worst patent trolls https://net.archive.org/net/20160727191625/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2016/07/patent-defense-group-seeks-to-knock-out-top-three-trolls-of-2015/
#10yrsago Censorship firm drops bogus lawsuit in opposition to researchers who outed them https://citizenlab.ca/research-interest/
#10yrsago Photographer sues Getty Photos for $1B as a result of they’re charging for pix she donated to LoC https://hyperallergic.com/photographer-files-1-billion-suit-against-getty-for-licensing-her-public-domain-images/
#10yrsago First-ever Michelin star for road meals awarded to Singaporean hawker stalls https://net.archive.org/net/20160723174014/http://uk.reuters.com/article/us-singapore-food-hawkers-michelin-star-idUKKCN1021XA
#10yrsago Highest-paid CEOs generate lowest shareholder returns https://www.msci.com/paperwork/10199/91a7f92b-d4ba-4d29-ae5f-8022f9bb944d
#10yrsago Olympics to corporations: mentioning “Olympics” in social media is a trademark violation #https://net.archive.org/net/20160727075209/https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/id/17120510/united-states-olympic-committee-battle-athletes-companies-sponsor-not-olympics
#10yrsago Professional-tar-sands activists say soiled Canadian oil is healthier as a result of “lesbians are sizzling” https://www.joeydevilla.com/2016/07/26/this-ill-advised-hot-lesbians-ad-promoting-canadian-vs-saudi-oil-is-real-and-not-a-parody-by-the-onion/
#5yrsago The infosec apocalypse is nigh https://pluralistic.web/2021/07/27/gas-on-the-fire/#a-safe-place-for-dangerous-ideas
#1yrago How twiddling enshittifies your mind https://pluralistic.web/2025/07/28/twiddlehazard/#outboard-brains-considered-harmful
“The Reverse-Centaur’s Information to AI,” a brief e book about being a greater AI critic, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, June 2026https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/
“Canny Valley”: A restricted version assortment of the collages I create for Pluralistic, self-published, September 2025 https://pluralistic.web/2025/09/04/illustrious/#chairman-bruce
“Enshittification: Why All the pieces Abruptly Obtained Worse and What to Do About It,” Farrar, Straus, Giroux, October 7 2025https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/
“Picks and Shovels”: a sequel to “Pink Group Blues,” concerning the heroic period of the PC, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2025 (https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels).
“The Bezzle”: a sequel to “Pink Group Blues,” about prison-tech and different grifts, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), February 2024 (thebezzle.org).
“The Misplaced Trigger:” a solarpunk novel of hope within the local weather emergency, Tor Books (US), Head of Zeus (UK), November 2023 (http://lost-cause.org).
“The Web Con”: A nonfiction e book about interoperability and Large Tech (Verso) September 2023 (http://seizethemeansofcomputation.org). Signed copies at Ebook Soup (https://www.booksoup.com/e book/9781804291245).
“Pink Group Blues”: “A grabby, compulsive thriller that can depart you realizing extra about how the world works than you probably did earlier than.” Tor Books http://redteamblues.com.
“Chokepoint Capitalism: Learn how to Beat Large Tech, Tame Large Content material, and Get Artists Paid, with Rebecca Giblin”, on learn how to unrig the markets for artistic labor, Beacon Press/Scribe 2022 https://chokepointcapitalism.com
“The Put up-American Web,” a geopolitical sequel of kinds to Enshittification, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2027
“Unauthorized Bread”: a middle-grades graphic novel tailored from my novella about refugees, toasters and DRM, FirstSecond, April 20, 2027
“Enshittification, Why All the pieces Abruptly Obtained Worse and What to Do About It” (the graphic novel), Firstsecond, 2027
“The Memex Technique,” Farrar, Straus, Giroux, 2027
Right this moment’s prime sources:
Presently writing: “The Put up-American Web,” a sequel to “Enshittification,” concerning the higher world the remainder of us get to have now that Trump has torched America. Fourth draft accomplished. Submitted to editor.
A Little Brother quick story about DIY insulin PLANNING
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