SOFIA -- On May 6, the European Commission will unveil its proposals for what it calls the single digital market – an attempt to corral the 28 member states of the European Union into a common market for digital goods, capital, content and services. The impetus for this strategy: the growing dominance of American tech firms like Google Inc. and Facebook Inc. in Europe, and their perceived encroachment on the crown jewels of European industry – networking infrastructure, automotive and manufacturing, which together form 2 million enterprises and 33 million jobs.

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