A NYU philosopher's argument that the internet is a public good could embolden EU regulators to tighten rules on Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta beyond the DMA and DSA.
A philosophical argument that the internet should be regulated as a public good is gaining notice among European policymakers. The paper, written by a New York University philosopher, could embolden the European Commission to expand its regulatory pressure on Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta beyond the existing Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act.
The paper contends that the current consent-based model of internet governance is morally invalid. Social norms create duress that voids the voluntariness of user consent, the author argues. Instead, the paper proposes a "Fundamental Interests Public Goods Argument" that would give governments authority to provision, protect, and maintain the internet. That includes banning targeted advertising, algorithmic personalization, and deep consumer profiling.
For big tech, the risk is that this reasoning could influence the EU's next digital policy package, expected in late 2026 or 2027. The paper explicitly says the DMA and DSA, while better than the GDPRs consent-heavy approach, still fall short because they rely too heavily on informed consent. The author calls for structural changes: requiring platforms to offer fully non-personalized experiences by default, mandating interoperability across social networks, and potentially breaking up vertical integration of services.
Microsoft, designated a gatekeeper under the DMA in September 2023, submitted its updated compliance report in March 2026. The company faces fines of up to 10% of global turnover for non-compliance, rising to 20% for repeated violations. The paper's logic would justify even stricter measures. The DSA already requires very large online platforms to conduct systemic risk assessments covering fundamental rights, democratic processes, and public health. The paper's public goods argument would provide a theoretical foundation for regulators to demand more aggressive corrective measures. Independent auditors already have access to gatekeeper data under the DSA, and the Commission can order changes to recommender systems.
The timeline for this risk is uncertain but real. What to watch: if the EU's next policy package explicitly references public goods theory or adopts language about the internet as essential infrastructure, the scope of future regulation widens. A weaker signal would be national digital protection authorities in Germany or France citing the paper in enforcement actions. If the EU instead focuses on improving consent mechanisms without addressing structural power imbalances, the case for tougher rules weakens.
The paper's author, writing in early 2026, concludes that "we are blindly stumbling through the shadowed forest of internet governance." For Microsoft and its peers, the question is whether the EU is about to build a new path. Microsoft's MSFT stock page shows an Alpha Score of 71, moderate, with the stock up 1.06% today at $492.81.
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