An export tariff on EU data could be used to undermine the US tech dominance, a senior MEP has told the European Parliament.
Dirk Gotink, a Dutch politician and prominent figure within the ruling European People’s Party, said that a charge on data exports to the United States could be used to fund EU AI projects.
These projects, he added, would be more aligned with the bloc’s regulatory goals.
“Between the Godlike AI from the US, and the Chinese totalitarian alternatives that we are confronted with, the question is not whether we do something it is whether we are ready to provide an alternative — to be that alternative,” the representative, who used to serve as the spokesman for EPP boss Manfred Weber, said.
“We are mass exporting our data to the US, and also very soon… to China.”
“So if the EU is still looking for some of its own resources to leverage, then maybe an export tariff on our data is a good alternative?”
“I’m convinced that our data is the most valuable asset we have in Europe. It represents the value of our economy and our values itself, and it is something we need to monetise,” he concluded.
Gotink’s comments came during a European Parliament debate on AI data security, with MEPs from across the bloc expressing anger over the creation of new, US-made artificial intelligence products capable of finding vulnerabilities in widely used software.
Representatives from the Fine Gael-aligned EPP, Sinn Féin-aligned Left group, and Fianna Fáil-aligned Renew group all called for another EU digital crackdown aimed at curbing the alleged threat posed by US artificial intelligence via hacking and “disinformation”.
Other politicians from the political right questioned this narrative, putting EU failures in AI down to the bloc overregulating the sector.
Some referenced the lax cybersecurity standards of EU officials as being of serious concern, with the release of Ursula von der Leyen’s digital ID software said to contain a litany of critical flaws.
None of these flaws required AI to exploit, with ethical hackers claiming that it is trivial to extract sensitive information stored on the supposedly secure system.
Von der Leyen has insisted the product is ready to be implemented across the bloc, with the EU leader claiming Ireland will be an early adopter.