On Thursday, Chamber of Progress released new polling conducted by Morning Consult examining U.S. voter attitudes toward Europe’s Digital Markets Act. The polling comes as the Biden Administration pushes back against new European regulations singling out American tech companies, and as lawmakers in Congress call on the Administration to oppose the new law.
The survey found that voters prefer to impose regulations on S tech companies domestically rather than accept those from Europe. Voters also expressed that they would most like to see the U.S. work with European regulators to reduce the impact of the new law on U.S. companies and jobs.
Key polling results include:
- Nearly half of both Democrats (46%) and Republicans (49%) said the US should strengthen its own regulations on US tech companies, but oppose discriminatory European regulations.
- More than a third of respondents said EU regulations singling out US tech companies are unfair (37%) because they give foreign competitors a leg up. Less than a fifth said these regulations would be fair (17%).
- About half of adults said the Digital Markets Act would lead to fewer US tech jobs (46%).
- Before hearing details about the Digital Markets Act, 30% of respondents opposed any regulation of US tech companies by the EU, compared with 25% who supported such regulation. After hearing more details, respondents opposed EU regulation of US tech companies by a 36 point margin.
“As we head into this year’s elections, opposing discriminatory tech regulations coming out of the EU is a smart move by the Biden Administration,” said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich. “Tech jobs aren’t confined to Silicon Valley anymore – and regulations that hurt U.S. tech companies could have serious economic consequences for workers across the country. President Biden should keep up the pressure on EU policymakers to reconsider discriminatory regulations.”
The Biden Administration has actively pushed EU policymakers to address concerns with the DMA over the past year. In June of 2021, Biden’s National Security Council warned the EU against pursuing “protectionist” tech policies that exclusively target American companies. Three months later, the US’s TTC delegation raised concerns about the DMA at the inaugural U.S.-EU Trade and Technology Council meeting. In November and again in January, the Biden Administration circulated white papers in Brussels citing IP and cybersecurity concerns.
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