GLOBAL TECH REGULATION EFFORTS STRUGGLE TO GAIN GROUND

Despite growing regulatory momentum worldwide, major tech companies maintain structural advantages that limit the effectiveness of national and regional initiatives. Europe has pursued aggressive regulation through frameworks like the Digital Markets Act, while India and Brazil have implemented localization requirements and data residency rules. China operates its own tech ecosystem, largely isolated from Western platforms. Yet these efforts reveal a fundamental challenge: Big Tech's integrated business models, global infrastructure, and capital advantages allow them to absorb regulatory costs and adapt faster than regulators can respond. Network effects lock users into dominant platforms, and venture capital continues flowing toward established players. Author Cecilia Rikap's examination suggests that piecemeal regulation, while necessary, fails to address systemic power imbalances. Without coordinated international standards and structural reforms to how digital markets function, regional approaches remain insufficient to meaningfully challenge Big Tech's consolidated position.