Tech spats spark fears of 'digital protectionism'

Washington

AS American technology giants extend their global reach, fears are growing on their side of the Atlantic over trade barriers that some see as "digital protectionism". While China has long been a difficult market for US firms to navigate, tensions have been rising with the European Union on privacy, antitrust and other issues, impacting tech firms such as Google, Facebook and Uber.

In recent weeks, Europe's highest court struck down an agr…