If IT Policy is Your Thing, Keep an Eye on Europe

“If you’re interested in the intersection of technology,
government, standards and open source software, you really want to
be paying close attention to Europe these days. That’s because the
EU is where all of the really interesting, high-level IT policy
action is.

“Yes, there are some important things happening in China, but
Chinese policy is very narrowly targeted towards achieving
industry-specific economic goals. And yes, isolated initiatives and
skirmishes pop up in the U.S. from time to time, much to the
bewilderment of most legislators. But it’s in the EU where you find
by far and away the greatest sophistication on the part of policy
makers, and the most extensive grass-roots engagement by citizen
groups.

“The reason is not surprising. Unlike those other two huge
markets – the U.S. and China – the EU is of course made
up of many independent states, and it has taken decades of
multidimensional, creative effort to incentivize, cajole and nudge
those states into a more cohesive and forceful economic whole.”

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