In the United States, companies that do business on the Web have been relatively free to track and measure the spending habits of consumers and to trade such information with other businesses. But American companies, seeking to expand overseas, have recently run into trouble with European regulators, who insist that they meet Europe's privacy standards. More often than not, the European Union helps strengthen the hand of American antitrust agencies, by sharing information and looking at the international repercussions of mergers between American companies. In July, the EU blocked the merger of WorldCom and Sprint, citing its effect on telecommunications. And in the proposed AOL-Time Warner deal, it is likely that the EU will require the combined company to shed some businesses or change some practices.
American companies face a trade-off.
To expand into the lucrative European market, they must be willing to accept regulation that they have fought at home. Yet those compromises make it harder to battle new regulations in the United States. The European Union's active role in protecting consumers doesn't mean that it is slowing the march toward global economic integration. In fact, the EU helps the cause by reducing the abuses of globalization. That takes ammunition away from the powerful anti-globalist forces.