This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/07/technology/principles-are-no-match-for-europes-love-of-us-tech-titans-like-amazon-and-facebook.html
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Google, Facebook, Amazon and Others Thrive Despite Objections | |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| LONDON — On weekends, Guillaume Rosquin browses the shelves of local bookstores in Lyon, France. He enjoys peppering the staff with questions about what he should be reading next. But his visits, he says, are also a protest against the growing power of Amazon. He is bothered by the way the American online retailer treats its warehouse employees. | LONDON — On weekends, Guillaume Rosquin browses the shelves of local bookstores in Lyon, France. He enjoys peppering the staff with questions about what he should be reading next. But his visits, he says, are also a protest against the growing power of Amazon. He is bothered by the way the American online retailer treats its warehouse employees. |
| Still, as with millions of other Europeans, there is a limit to how much he will protest. | Still, as with millions of other Europeans, there is a limit to how much he will protest. |
| “It depends on the price,” said Mr. Rosquin, 49, who acknowledged that he was planning to buy a $400 BlackBerry smartphone on Amazon because the handset was not yet available on rival French websites. “If you can get something for half-price at Amazon, you may put your issues with their working conditions aside.” | “It depends on the price,” said Mr. Rosquin, 49, who acknowledged that he was planning to buy a $400 BlackBerry smartphone on Amazon because the handset was not yet available on rival French websites. “If you can get something for half-price at Amazon, you may put your issues with their working conditions aside.” |
| Across Europe, love — or at least acceptance — often wins out in the love-hate relationship with American tech companies like Amazon, Facebook and Google. Despite their often vocal criticism of these behemoths, people in the region are some of the most active and loyal users of American social networks, search engines and e-commerce websites. They are often even more hooked on the services than Americans are. | Across Europe, love — or at least acceptance — often wins out in the love-hate relationship with American tech companies like Amazon, Facebook and Google. Despite their often vocal criticism of these behemoths, people in the region are some of the most active and loyal users of American social networks, search engines and e-commerce websites. They are often even more hooked on the services than Americans are. |
| Google now has an 85 percent market share for search in the region’s five largest economies, including Britain, France and Germany, compared with less than 80 percent in 2009, according to the research company comScore. Google’s share of the American market stands at roughly 65 percent. | Google now has an 85 percent market share for search in the region’s five largest economies, including Britain, France and Germany, compared with less than 80 percent in 2009, according to the research company comScore. Google’s share of the American market stands at roughly 65 percent. |
| Facebook — the target of several government investigations for its tax practices in Europe — also has more than doubled its number of European users, to over 150 million, in the last five years, and the social network’s European user numbers now outpace American figures, according to the social media research company eMarketer. | Facebook — the target of several government investigations for its tax practices in Europe — also has more than doubled its number of European users, to over 150 million, in the last five years, and the social network’s European user numbers now outpace American figures, according to the social media research company eMarketer. |
| American tech companies operate seven of the 10 most visited websites in Europe, according to comScore statistics. Only Yandex and Mail.ru, a Russian search engine and an email site, and Axel Springer, the German publisher of Die Welt and Bild, make the list. | American tech companies operate seven of the 10 most visited websites in Europe, according to comScore statistics. Only Yandex and Mail.ru, a Russian search engine and an email site, and Axel Springer, the German publisher of Die Welt and Bild, make the list. |
| Nonetheless, from Spain to Sweden, many of Europe’s millions of Internet users regularly complain about the dominance of American tech companies, particularly about how their data is used and shared. It also leaves them wondering why so few homegrown tech companies are globally competitive. | Nonetheless, from Spain to Sweden, many of Europe’s millions of Internet users regularly complain about the dominance of American tech companies, particularly about how their data is used and shared. It also leaves them wondering why so few homegrown tech companies are globally competitive. |
| For many Europeans, the likes of Twitter and Amazon hold too much information about what people do online. That wariness has only grown stronger after the revelations by Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, about American intelligence agencies’ spying activities and perceived easy access to the world’s tech infrastructure. | For many Europeans, the likes of Twitter and Amazon hold too much information about what people do online. That wariness has only grown stronger after the revelations by Edward J. Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor, about American intelligence agencies’ spying activities and perceived easy access to the world’s tech infrastructure. |
| In some ways, Europeans are pushing back. | In some ways, Europeans are pushing back. |
| Last month, Google started removing some links to online search results after Europe’s highest court ruled that the company had to give people the right to request that information be taken down. | Last month, Google started removing some links to online search results after Europe’s highest court ruled that the company had to give people the right to request that information be taken down. |
| And the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is finishing new rules — tougher than those currently in force in the United States — intended to strengthen the region’s privacy protections for online data. | And the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, is finishing new rules — tougher than those currently in force in the United States — intended to strengthen the region’s privacy protections for online data. |
| But leave the clutches of the services they deride? No. | But leave the clutches of the services they deride? No. |
| For Stuart Turnbull, 42, a writer who lives two hours north of Edinburgh, a reliance on American tech companies has become the cost of doing business. | For Stuart Turnbull, 42, a writer who lives two hours north of Edinburgh, a reliance on American tech companies has become the cost of doing business. |
| Mr. Turnbull once tried to shut down his Facebook account after realizing that he was spending too much time sharing posts and comments. Yet as he looked to build contacts with other writers and editors around the world, Mr. Turnbull, who works from a home office in the small town of Crieff, soon changed his mind. He even opened a second Facebook account dedicated to his literary career. | Mr. Turnbull once tried to shut down his Facebook account after realizing that he was spending too much time sharing posts and comments. Yet as he looked to build contacts with other writers and editors around the world, Mr. Turnbull, who works from a home office in the small town of Crieff, soon changed his mind. He even opened a second Facebook account dedicated to his literary career. |
| While he remains concerned about how tech companies use his online data, the ability to tap into the global networks offered by the likes of Facebook and Twitter is too enticing a prospect to turn down. | While he remains concerned about how tech companies use his online data, the ability to tap into the global networks offered by the likes of Facebook and Twitter is too enticing a prospect to turn down. |
| “I accept that my data may be mined,” said Mr. Turnbull, who says he is more worried about companies’ potentially abusing his information than about governments’ getting access to his online data. “It’s the price you pay for using these so-called free services.” | “I accept that my data may be mined,” said Mr. Turnbull, who says he is more worried about companies’ potentially abusing his information than about governments’ getting access to his online data. “It’s the price you pay for using these so-called free services.” |
| In many ways, the American companies face little competition. For example, several regional e-commerce sites like the British fashion company ASOS have challenged Amazon but have yet to compete with the breadth of products — and discounts — offered by the American company. | In many ways, the American companies face little competition. For example, several regional e-commerce sites like the British fashion company ASOS have challenged Amazon but have yet to compete with the breadth of products — and discounts — offered by the American company. |
| European social networks, particularly in Germany, once dominated online communication but gradually fell out of favor as Facebook’s global reach grew. | European social networks, particularly in Germany, once dominated online communication but gradually fell out of favor as Facebook’s global reach grew. |
| Government efforts, including a French plan to create a state-backed search engine to compete with Google, have also failed to take off. | Government efforts, including a French plan to create a state-backed search engine to compete with Google, have also failed to take off. |
| But not every European has succumbed to the dominance of the American tech companies. | But not every European has succumbed to the dominance of the American tech companies. |
| Six months ago, Russell Albert, a 43-year-old British software engineer, started thinking that the ads displayed next to his Google search results were too closely based on his Internet search history. He switched to using smaller, lesser-known search engines and began looking for alternatives to other Google products, like its popular email service. | Six months ago, Russell Albert, a 43-year-old British software engineer, started thinking that the ads displayed next to his Google search results were too closely based on his Internet search history. He switched to using smaller, lesser-known search engines and began looking for alternatives to other Google products, like its popular email service. |
| Surfing the web may not be as easy with these other services, Mr. Albert said, but he is still glad he switched. “I hated being completely Googled up,” he said. “I decided that I didn’t want to have all my eggs in just one basket.” | Surfing the web may not be as easy with these other services, Mr. Albert said, but he is still glad he switched. “I hated being completely Googled up,” he said. “I decided that I didn’t want to have all my eggs in just one basket.” |
| After Facebook’s purchase of the messaging service WhatsApp, rumors abounded that European users of the messaging service would flee, fearing that Facebook would gain access to their personal information despite reassurances from the company that it would keep WhatsApp user data separate. | After Facebook’s purchase of the messaging service WhatsApp, rumors abounded that European users of the messaging service would flee, fearing that Facebook would gain access to their personal information despite reassurances from the company that it would keep WhatsApp user data separate. |
| Yet six months after the announcement of the deal, WhatsApp says its user numbers have increased to half a billion — many of them Europeans. | Yet six months after the announcement of the deal, WhatsApp says its user numbers have increased to half a billion — many of them Europeans. |
| Among them is Lara Goldsworthy, a 31-year-old marketing manager from Hamburg, Germany. | Among them is Lara Goldsworthy, a 31-year-old marketing manager from Hamburg, Germany. |
| “WhatsApp would have been the first service that I would have left, but I didn’t,” said Ms. Goldsworthy, who added that many of her German friends — seemingly without irony — took to Facebook to complain about the social network’s acquisition of the messaging service. | “WhatsApp would have been the first service that I would have left, but I didn’t,” said Ms. Goldsworthy, who added that many of her German friends — seemingly without irony — took to Facebook to complain about the social network’s acquisition of the messaging service. |
| “I realized,” she said, “that I had given up my privacy a long time ago.” | “I realized,” she said, “that I had given up my privacy a long time ago.” |