Primary Feature — Publications

Fighting for Democracy Amid the AI Race: Designing Tech Industrial Policy to Promote Democratic Economic Governance

Open Markets' Europe director, Max von Thun, and industrial policy program manager, AudreyStienon, discuss in Competition Policy International's TechREG Chronicle how AI policy narratives framed around the goal of "winning" a global race threaten to undermine the democratic values that this technology is supposed to help defend. Instead, von Thun and Stienon present a vision for an industrial strategy for AI centered on democratic governance as a means of protecting the public interest.

Report - Taming the Hyperscalers

The Open Markets Institute published a blueprint for Europe’s transition towards an open, competitive, and sovereign cloud market, co-authored by Europe director Max von Thun and EU tech policy fellow George Colville.

The Corner Newsletter: Europe Retreats from Cornerstone Carbon Pricing Policy (December 2, 2025)

In this issue, we take a closer look at whether Trump tariff policies are the only reason Europe might moderate a key carbon pricing mechanism, which lies at the heart of its climate change policy.

The Future of Democracy: Speech, Thought, Sovereignty, and Power in the Age of Platforms and AI

The Open Markets Institute and ARTICLE 19 hosted on October 15th & 16th a convening of high-level leading thinkers, lawmakers, technologists, and advocates who discussed the direct and growing threats to our democracies and basic liberties posed by today’s dominant online communications platforms, the rise of AI, and interference by foreign states.

Open Markets Submits Recommendations on Cloud and AI Development Act, Urges EU to Break Big Tech’s Cloud Monopoly

The Open Markets Institute warns that the European Commission's Cloud and AI Development Act will fail to achieve its goals unless it directly addresses the dominance of Amazon, Microsoft, and Google in the cloud computing market, advocating for regulatory reforms to ensure fair competition and digital sovereignty in Europe.

Europe vs. the Tech Plutocrats An Existential Battle for Democracy and Sovereignty

Director of Europe & Transatlantic partnerships Max von Thun published an essay in Musk, Power, and the EU: Can EU Law Tackle the Challenges of Unchecked Plutocracy?,warningthat Europe’s reliance on U.S. tech giants like Elon Musk’s companies threatens its sovereignty and democracy, and calls for bold, unified EU action to reclaim control and enforce democratic digital governance.

Articles, BooksOMI EuropeMay 29, 2025Max von Thun, 2025, May 2025, Big Tech, Europe, Technology & Power, Primary Feature

Open Markets Institute and Partners Press the EU to Hold Strong against Trump Threats to Protect Digital Sovereignty

Open Markets Institute’s Europe Director Max von Thun, in collaboration with partners European Policy Centre and Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, has published a policy briefing urging European Union leaders to strengthen their resolve in tackling Big Tech despite increasing pressure from the new Trump administration and US tech billionaires.

Press Releases, ReportsOMI EuropeFebruary 28, 20252025, February 2025, Europe, Politics, Max von Thun, Primary Feature, Technology & Power

Open Markets and Partners Call on European Commission to Divest Google’s Adtech Businesses

Open Markets and civil society partners urge the European Commission to take decisive action against Google’s dominance in the digital advertising sector in order to restore balance and protect the news media and democracy.

The Corner Newsletter: September 27, 2024

In this issue, we explore how Intel’s recent woes suggest that Biden administration’s CHIPS and Science Act was insufficient and recommend how the next administration must go further in investing in semiconductor manufacturing to protect the country’s national interest.

Financial Times - Europe must not tie its hands in the fight against corporate power

As the EU's competition enforcer Margrethe Vestager prepares to step down, Max von Thun writes in the Financial Times that the incoming chief Teresa Ribera must take up the mantle to shape markets in the public interest.

ArticlesOMI EuropeSeptember 19, 20242024, Max von Thun, September 2024, Europe, Competition Law & Philosophy, Primary Feature

The Corner Newsletter: September 13, 2024

In this issue, we report from the Virginia courthouse where the DOJ is laying out its case against Google for monopolization of ad tech. And we look at Europe’s fascinating debate on how to rebuild its economy.

Regulate & Diversify Tech Gatekeepers to Prevent Widespread Outages of Essential Communications Infrastructure

Open Markets Europe Director Max von Thun weighs in on today’s widespread IT outage and how it exposes the great risk in monopolistic corporations controlling our communications systems.

Report | AI in the Public Interest: Confronting the Monopoly Threat

The Open Markets Institute and the Center for Journalism and Liberty publish a report how just a handful of Big Tech companies – by exploiting existing monopoly power and aggressively co-opting other actors – have already positioned themselves to control the future of artificial intelligence and magnify many of the worst problems of the digital age.

How Monopoly Threatens Democracy and Security

Executive director Barry Lynn and senior fellow Johnny Ryan joined the first in-depth public discussion in Brussels of the European Commission’s failure to use its full antimonopoly authority to address pressing threats posed by concentration.

Publications

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