> The lengths they go to in order to operate in China are magnitudes greater than to operate in the EU, yet EU makes them $10+ billion more profit than China.

> You can substitute Apple for Google or any SV big tech

Except Google pretty much doesn't operate in China and shareholders seem fine with that.

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jjani 3 days ago | parent [-]

Because Google never made such profits in China even when they did operate there, neither do they really have the opportunity to do so, even if they'd comply with everything they'd be asked of.

Entirely different from their EU operations to just give one example.

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pembrook 3 days ago | parent [-]

Not for long if the EU government keeps raiding it for billions.

EU social welfare programs are all in a precarious state and the EU is currently taking on massive debts to re-arm again. Their economy is also not growing and China is eating their lunch economically (autos, manufacturing, industry).

Public opinion has turned so dramatically against big tech that triggering $10B in fines is like taking candy from a baby. Expect this to 10X by the end of the decade.

The incentive structure is there and the EU has already realized they can raid US companies in the name of 'privacy' without much pushback (hilariously, they're also constantly trying to undermine encryption at the same time...so we know they don't actually care about "privacy," just easy money).

	▲	jjani 2 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		That would really require an absolutely dramatic escalation of the fines, as the current ones - even the Meta €1.2 billion fine they got in 2023 - are absolute drops in the ocean compared to even just their yearly EU profit. And the reality is that the US government would start blackmailing the EU long before that dramatic escalation is reached.
	▲	moi2388 2 days ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		It’s not so much privacy as data ownership.
	▲	troupo 2 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Ah yes. "privacy" in quotes. Because these supranational megacorps should just be allowed to do anything and everything. And any attempt to reign them in is a raid.