Recently, the European Commission and Apple's "grievances" escalated again, according to relevant news reports, the European Union's antitrust regulator filed a violation charge against Apple in the United States, the specific reason is that Apple only allows users to download software in the Apple App Market, restricting users' freedom rights. We all know that Apple deliberately exploited such a loophole, but it is not a day or two, combined with what has happened recently, the EU's statement is a bit deliberate, making a big fuss in it.
Who doesn't know that the United States and the European Union are so good that they wear the same pants, and the United States asks the EU to go east, and the EU will definitely not dare to go west. And now, the European Union has sued Apple in court with a complaint, and the United States, as Apple's in-law, has gladly accepted it, and has not been as yin and yang as before, slandering and blaming the crime, which is really a new thing, so what is the mystery behind this?
First of all, we need to understand why the EU is competing with the United States on the Internet alone. The European Union has no brains to follow in the footsteps of the United States in many policies and guidelines, so why should it hold on to Apple's restriction on users downloading apps?
Personally, I believe that the most important point is that the EU wants to realize its own strategic autonomy on the Internet, although the EU is infinitely close to the United States in terms of policy and has lost its strategic autonomy, but for the entire EU countries, it is extremely urgent to regain their own strategic autonomy and no longer be subject to the United States. Although the EU has a large economy and a highly integrated market system, it does not have a company comparable to the American Silicon Valley giants in the field of Internet technology. It's incredible, so one of Europe's autonomy is Internet independence, getting rid of dependence on the United States in this regard, and flipping the table with the United States in the IT field.
Moreover, the most direct reason is that the EU game giants are dissatisfied with the Apple tax, and the lawsuits have been fought in the United States, and the emergence of Hongmeng has long made the EU unaccustomed to it, so it will take the US IT industry. The emergence of Huawei's HarmonyOS system has brought new variables to the global Internet landscape. With its openness and compatibility, the HarmonyOS system has injected fresh blood into the smartphone operating system market, and also provided another way for the EU to think - that is, by supporting and encouraging the rise of local and third-party systems, reducing dependence on American technology and promoting the diversified development of the Internet ecosystem. HarmonyOS's case shows that technological autonomy is not a distant dream.
In addition, the EU has long been dissatisfied with the United States, and the EU is using the issue to play and export its evil spirits. Whether it is the United States' insistence on letting the G7 countries freeze the disposal of Russian assets privately, or the United States' insistence on letting the European Union increase import tariffs on China's electric vehicles, although the EU has reluctantly agreed, it is indeed reluctant in its heart. So, Apple just hit the muzzle of the gun, giving the EU a way to vent.
And will the United States so easily allow the EU to achieve strategic autonomy in the Internet field? This is of course impossible. The United States can allow American companies to be fined by Europe for monopoly and other reasons, but the bottom line of the United States is very clear - the EU will never allow the emergence of Internet technology giants. Therefore, although the EU's pursuit of Internet autonomy is legitimate, in practice, if it wants to break through the resistance of the United States, it must shed its skin if it does not die.
In general, the friction between the EU and Apple, in fact, the EU and the United States for the strategic autonomy of the Internet, this is a test of the EU, but judging from the results, there is still a long way to go.