The Atlantic Council established the Transatlantic Digital Marketplace Initiative (TDMI) in 2015 with the goal of fostering greater US-EU understanding and cooperation on digital matters. Specifically, the initiative examines US and EU policy perspectives on digital issues and convenes leaders from both sides of the Atlantic working in this space.
In 2018, TDMI developed a simulation designed to introduce national security experts to the importance – and challenges — of digitalization. TDMI has run the simulation in Washington, Paris, and Berlin, and looks forward to bringing it to new cities and audiences in 2020.
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In 2016, TDMI published Building a Transatlantic Digital Marketplace: Twenty Steps to 2020, the result of an expert task force led by Carl Bildt, chair of the Global Commission on Internet Governance and former Swedish prime minister, and William Kennard, former US ambassador to the EU and former chair of the FCC. The report identified measures that would need to be undertaken to move toward a barrier-free marketplace in the transatlantic digital economy.
More recently, the TDMI published Making America First in the Digital Economy: The Case for Engaging Europe, which examined areas of US-EU regulatory divergence and argued that the US administration needed to engage with the EU on these issues.
Fri, Dec 18, 2020
Engaging Europe: A transatlantic digital agenda for the Biden administration
Without engagement, Europe and the United States are likely to continue their disparate approaches to the digital economy. The Biden administration must meet the challenge of building better US-EU cooperation on digital issues, for the sake of transatlantic security, prosperity, and shared values.
Wed, Dec 16, 2020
Europe’s new legislative proposals mark a big ‘first move’ on tech-market power
On December 15, the European Commission unveiled its long-anticipated legislative proposals—the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act—in a move that may further deepen transatlantic divides over digital commerce.
New Atlanticist by
Tue, Dec 15, 2020
Lessons from a Privacy Shield post-mortem on Capitol Hill
A hearing on the consequences of the European Court of Justice’s invalidation of the EU-US Privacy Shield illuminated the deepening transatlantic divide over data transfers, and it highlighted the early challenge the subject looks to pose for President-elect Joe Biden’s administration, which is eager to repair US-EU relations.
New Atlanticist by Kenneth Propp
Mon, Jun 22, 2020
The European Union and the search for digital sovereignty: Building “Fortress Europe” or preparing for a new world?
However the EU redefines sovereignty post-COVID-19—including technological or digital sovereignty—the impact will not be limited to Europe and European companies.
Issue Brief by Frances Burwell, Kenneth Propp
Mon, Jul 20, 2020
Return of the transatlantic privacy war
In a sweeping judgment on July 16, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) summarily demolished the fragile legal peace that has prevailed for the last four years on the subject of transatlantic data transfers.
New Atlanticist by Kenneth Propp
Thu, Jul 16, 2020
US tech wins a round in Apple case at the European Court of Justice
Apple’s victory in the Irish tax question stands in sharp contrast to a series of defeats that US technology companies including Facebook and Google have suffered at the European Court of Justice in recent years in privacy-related cases.
New Atlanticist by Kenneth Propp
Wed, Apr 22, 2020
Coronavirus spurs Europe’s quest for digital sovereignty
All of the virus-related developments—growing skepticism about global sourcing, the deepening threat of disinformation, the centrality of digital services in a return towards normality, and the privacy and security questions that dog them—will have an impact on the EU’s longer-term quest for digital sovereignty.
New Atlanticist by Kenneth Propp
Tue, Mar 3, 2020
First privacy, now data: The EU seeks a managed digital space
On February 19, the European Commission launched a major regulatory initiative aimed at creating a transformational digital economy in Europe. Given the close integration of the US and European Union (EU) economies—including in the digital sphere—this European initiative is likely to have a significant impact on US companies and consumers.
New Atlanticist by Frances Burwell
Fri, Feb 21, 2020
Putting privacy limits on national security mass surveillance: The European Court of Justice intervenes
In a little-noticed set of opinions issued on January 15, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) put forward a bold and unprecedented proposition—mass surveillance conducted by European Union (EU) member state national security services should operate within the bounds of the Union’s privacy laws.
New Atlanticist by Kenneth Propp
Thu, Dec 19, 2019
Digital tax talks continue as trade threats rise
Digital service taxes are one of the primary wedge issues in a larger transatlantic divide over digital policy. A tangible measure for politicians and the public alike, they could become one of the primary catalysts for the new European Commission’s quest for digital sovereignty.
Blog Post by Jörn Fleck, Alex Pieter Baker
Thu, Dec 19, 2019
Making Europe fit for the digital age
This focus on digital policy is embedded in a new economic strategy that represents a return to thinking in traditional European terms about an industrial strategy, one that would ensure that European companies face a “level-playing field” on their own continent but that also makes room for innovative European start-ups.
Blog Post by Frances Burwell
Wed, Dec 11, 2019
Waving the flag of digital sovereignty
European leaders are feeling besieged again. Having spent the past several years building up Europe’s physical defenses against migrants, they now see themselves faced with a less tangible sort of invasion—US technology companies dominating their markets and vacuuming up the personal data of their citizens. And so the cry has gone up from Berlin, Brussels, and Paris: “Digital sovereignty!”
New Atlanticist by Kenneth Propp
Tue, Oct 29, 2019
5G fears: The EU weighs its options
Spurred by US criticism of the Chinese telecom supplier Huawei, and especially its participation in 5G networks, the European Union began developing an approach to this key issue over the last year.
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Mon, Oct 28, 2019
Von der Leyen, new Commission take aim at AI legislation
By legislating the use of this key technology, the European Union will likely become the leading regulator for AI, as it has for privacy with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). But the challenge for von der Leyen will be developing legislation that reflects European norms and values while also avoiding overregulation that might hinder innovation and investment.
Blog Post by
Tue, Oct 22, 2019
The emerging EU regulatory landscape for digital platform liability
As concern skyrockets over political disinformation, hate speech, and terrorist incitement on the Internet, legislators across Europe are scrambling for regulatory answers.
New Atlanticist by
Thu, Oct 3, 2019
A digital agenda for the new European Commission: issues and opportunities
Under the outgoing European Commission of President Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Union has emerged as the regulatory superpower of the global digital economy. Early signs indicate Brussels will continue to leverage the power of the single market and its regulatory approach when a new Commission takes office in November 2019.
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Wed, Oct 2, 2019
Europe’s new commission: The outlook for digital policy
A quick look at how the new European Commission will line up on digital policy.
New Atlanticist by
Tue, Jul 23, 2019
France’s digital tax: all about leverage?
The new measure should be a warning that European states will adopt unilateral solutions to update tax rules
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