Margrethe Vestager is probably the most powerful person in European tech – and in the last eighteen months, she has been using that power extensively.
The European Competition Commissioner has ordered Apple to pay back €13 billion in tax to Ireland, fined Google a record-breaking €2.4 billion, and delivered similar rulings on Amazon and Facebook.
Amid the swirling talk about regulating Silicon Valley firms, Vestager is one of the few people with the ability to actually do it – so how does she approach the task? In this recording from WIRED’s recent two-day festival, Vestager explains her philosophy, how she stays in touch with the latest tech developments, and why she’s been taking a “detox” from Donald Trump.
A transcript of some of the key moments is here.
For more on Vestager and the background to the Google and Apple cases, read Europe vs Silicon Valley: behind enemy lines with the woman deciding Google's fate.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
