Decoder with Nilay Patel Recode Decode: Margrethe Vestager, European Commissioner for Competition (Live at SXSW 2019)
Mar 18, 2019
Margrethe Vestager, the European Commissioner for Competition, is a powerhouse in tech regulation, known for her tough antitrust stance. In a lively discussion, she shares insights on America’s growing hunger for tech oversight and critiques Elizabeth Warren’s breakup approach. Vestager likens Big Tech to pesticides and questions the implications of GDPR for smaller firms. She reflects on the challenges of privacy in smart devices and the ethical dilemmas in AI. Plus, she considers the future of competition in the digital landscape and Europe’s role in tech innovation.
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Tech as Pesticides
- Vestager draws a parallel between the initial unchecked rise of chemical pesticides and the current state of the tech industry.
- She suggests that society needs to gain control of data usage, similar to how it eventually regulated harmful chemicals.
GDPR and Company Size
- Vestager refutes the claim that GDPR favors large companies, citing tiered obligations based on company size.
- She also admits that GDPR’s terms and conditions can be tricky to understand, even for her.
Vestager's Search Engine
- Kara Swisher asks Vestager about her search engine usage, and Vestager says she uses Quant, a French search engine.
- Vestager uses Quant for its privacy features, only occasionally checking Google to see if they've changed.