The Google logo, displayed at the opening of the new Google data center in Eemshaven, The Netherlands.CreditVincent
Jannink/European Press photo Agency
Wealth and influence in the technology business have always been about gaining the upper hand in software or the machines that software ran on.
Now data — gathered in those immense pools of information that are at the heart of everything from artificial intelligence to online shopping recommendations — is increasingly a focus of technology competition. And academics and some policy makers, especially in Europe, are considering whether big internet companies like Google and Facebook might use their data resources as a barrier to new entrants and innovation.
In recent years, Google, Facebook, Apple, Amazon and Microsoft have all been targets of tax evasion, privacy or antitrust investigations. But in the coming years, who controls what data could be the next worldwide regulatory focus as governments strain to understand and sometimes rein in American tech giants.
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