Obama attacks Europe over tech protectionism against Google
US President Barack Obama hit out at the EU for its scrutiny of companies like Google and Facebook, which he believes is driven by a desire to protect European tech companies.
Search giant Google is currently embroiled in a four-year probe into its dominant position in Europe’s search engine market.
“Sometimes the European response here is more commercially-driven than anything else,” said Obama during an interview with technology site Re/Code.
“This point – that regulations are only there to shelter our companies – is out of line,” a European Commission spokesperson told the Financial Times.
“Regulation should make it easier for non-EU companies to access the single market. It is in [US companies’] interest that things are enforced in a uniform manner,” the spokesperson added.