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EU: Tech Companies give their opinion on ‘Brexit’ vote

By  |  June 22, 2016

Microsoft Corp. was for a decade pursued by European Union antitrust cops, who fined it €2.2 billion. But when customers and employees last month asked executives whether the company wanted the UK to leave the bloc, the firm sent an open letter urging it to stay.

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    “Historically, the UK being part of the EU has been one of several important criteria that make it one of the most attractive places in Europe,” wrote Microsoft’s U.K. chief, Michel Van der Bel.

    Tech firms have clashed with the EU on regulatory issues ranging from privacy to taxes to antitrust law. But ahead of a referendum on the U.K.’s continued membership in the EUon Thursday, several technology executives and lobbyists said that the U.K.’s leaving the bloc could deepen those battles—while creating new obstacles for them to do business in the UK, too.

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    At issue is a delicate political balance in the EU over tech policy between countries, including the U.K. and Nordic and Baltic countries, that favor lighter regulation and others, led by France and Germany, that argue the rise of big global technology firms necessitates new rules to help level the playing field.

    While most big US tech firms have declined to comment on the vote, some executives acknowledge privately that if the U.K. were to remove or lighten some EU restrictions on, for instance, the use of personal data or corporate tax rules, it might help their UK operations.

    But they say any change like that would depend on follow-through from U.K. policy makers. Any benefit could also be outweighed by an increase in the regulatory burden in the larger remaining portion of the EU, without what they describe as London’s moderating influence.

    Some smaller, European tech companies echoed those concerns.

    “In the case of Brexit, I would be worried about the direction of European technology policy,” said Dan Rogers, co-founder of Peakon, a Danish startup that offers employee-analytics platforms to businesses. “Without the UK as a counterbalance, there’s a strong possibility that the EU would enact more detrimental regulations.”

    Full Content: The Wall Street Journal

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