EU and US Tech Trends: Major Developments Across Multiple Sectors

The European and American technology sectors have witnessed a number of key developments, covering regulatory policy adjustments, strategic layouts of tech giants, and breakthroughs in emerging technologies. The European Union has released targeted regulatory adjustment proposals aimed at enhancing the global status of its local technology industry; meanwhile, leading U.S. tech enterprises are accelerating investments in frontier fields such as space computing and next-generation energy technologies. At the same time, the pattern of cooperation and competition in the transatlantic digital field continues to evolve, profoundly influencing the tech industry landscape on that day.

EU Launches Digital Regulatory Reforms to Strengthen Tech Industry Competitiveness. On December 2, the European Commission officially submitted a package of reform proposals focusing on streamlining digital and technology-related regulatory rules, with key adjustments to the Artificial Intelligence Act and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) to boost Europe's advantages in global tech competition. Specifically, regarding the Artificial Intelligence Act, the European Commission has proposed delaying the effective date of relevant provisions on high-risk AI systems in sensitive areas such as employment screening and law enforcement by up to 16 months beyond the original schedule. Under the current framework, these key provisions were originally scheduled to take effect in August 2026.

In terms of GDPR revisions, the proposal allows tech companies to use personal data of EU citizens for AI model training, provided that such data processing complies with all existing EU and member state laws and adheres to the core principles of GDPR. Notably, this reform package must go through the standard EU legislative process, being submitted to the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union for deliberation, and can only formally take effect after being voted through. On December 2, industry experts pointed out that this adjustment reflects the EU's efforts in balancing data privacy protection and technological innovation, and is expected to release more policy flexibility for European tech enterprises to advance AI-related businesses.

U.S. Tech Giants Ramp Up Layout in Space Computing, with Perovskite Technology as a Key Driver. On December 2, CITIC Securities released a special research report indicating that space computing power is transitioning from the conceptual phase to practical application, and major U.S. tech giants such as Amazon, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), and Google are accelerating their strategic layout in this field. The report emphasizes that energy supply is the core bottleneck for space computing power, which is highly dependent on advanced photovoltaic technology. Currently, the triple-junction gallium arsenide photovoltaic cells commonly used in the space field are extremely costly, while low-cost crystalline silicon cells lack the radiation resistance required for long-term space missions.

As a next-generation photovoltaic technology with both high efficiency and low-cost advantages, perovskite has emerged as a potential preferred solution to this challenge. On December 2, industry insiders confirmed that the industrialization process of perovskite technology has accelerated significantly in 2025, with key breakthroughs achieved in efficiency and stability, and multiple GW-level production lines around the world have been put into operation one after another. Analysts predict that the efforts of U.S. tech giants in the space computing field will substantially drive the demand for perovskite technology, creating new investment opportunities for the entire industrial chain. This trend also highlights the continuous expansion of U.S. tech enterprises in frontier fields such as space exploration, renewable energy, and advanced materials.

Against the backdrop of new developments, the transatlantic game over digital sovereignty continues to heat up. In the context of various key tech developments on December 2, the long-standing dispute over digital sovereignty between Europe and the United States has become increasingly prominent, and the deep-seated differences between the two sides in digital regulation, data flow, and tech governance have further emerged. The EU's launch of this regulatory reform proposal is widely regarded as a response to the competitive pressure brought by the dominant position of the U.S. tech industry. On the same day, industry analysts warned that failure to effectively coordinate these differences may exacerbate the rift between Europe and the United States in the tech and digital fields, and even trigger a new round of competition for leadership in key tech areas such as artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and space technology.