High-Tech Innovations on Hold: Europe’s Regulatory Brakes
As you may know, in 2024, all the tech giants have been slowing down or delaying the release of certain features in Europe. The commonly cited reason? Strict regulations that complicate things for brands, burdened by an excess of laws, rules, and limitations. And this year, there has been a whole bunch of them.
Apple Intelligence and the Digital Markets Act
You couldn’t have missed it—Apple announced its Apple Intelligence suite, a set of features integrated into its devices designed to optimize user experience through artificial intelligence. Its rollout in Europe has been postponed, according to the company, due to constraints imposed by the Digital Markets Act. This regulation aims to control major digital platforms to ensure fair competition and protect personal data. Apple had to scale back its features, especially those involving advanced data processing, to make them available to European users.
But honestly, between you and me, given Apple’s clout, can we truly believe they lacked the legal resources to adapt from the get-go? Personally, I see it clearly as Apple’s revenge, aiming to penalize Europe for too frequently meddling in its business, such as the early switch to USB-C or the requirement to allow alternative app marketplaces in Europe, sidestepping App Store limitations.
Meta AI Hindered by GDPR
The story is somewhat similar at Meta. The company launched its Meta AI assistant in the United States and other regions but couldn’t immediately roll it out in Europe. The cited issue? Incompatibilities with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This regulation requires explicit consent from users for their data to be used, which delayed the European launch. Meta had to revise its approach to ensure the assistant complied with European standards, especially in training AI models on user-generated content. Users of Ray-Ban Meta felt the impact, with AI arriving late in our glasses, and even today, one of the most exciting features—real-time image analysis—is not offered, which is frustrating.
ChatGPT: Delayed Features in Europe
OpenAI also slowed the rollout of certain ChatGPT features. The Advanced Voice Mode, which allows for natural voice interactions with AI, was launched in the United States well before it reached Europe. European regulations, particularly concerning emotional recognition and voice data collection, required adjustments and did not function in Europe without a VPN for several weeks. Similarly, the Memory feature, which personalizes interactions by remembering past exchanges, had to comply with GDPR before launching in Europe. Lastly, Real-Time Visual Analysis, a feature that allows AI to interact directly with elements displayed on the screen, remains unavailable in Europe to date.
Am I Being Paranoid?
When I perceive these delays as a way to punish Europe, which often puts obstacles in the way of tech giants, am I bordering on conspiracy theory? Maybe a little, especially since these limitations are not confined to Europe alone; other parts of the world also experience delays, and notably, Meta is not entirely free to maneuver in the United States, a country that closely monitors each action of Facebook and probably limits some of its innovations more than Europe. But it might also be a mix of all these factors. These companies might well be happy to use these different regulations as an excuse to roll out their new products more gradually—it’s a step back from recent years, but it’s more comfortable, more economical, and allows these companies to better test their innovations before launching them internationally.
The worst part is that I’m generally in favor of all these regulations, considering that tech giants struggle to self-regulate and impose necessary limitations on their products and innovations to adequately protect consumers. But what can I say, I’m not without contradictions.