And if the giants of the technology were treated as countries? – The public.en

in Denmark, a company such as Apple can be the target of the same treatment diplomatic than the European Union.

Make major investments that could revolutionize cities and regions in decline, but their options for fiscal policy can also cost thousands of millions to the public coffers. Lock arms-iron with justice in the name of the privacy of its users, but also the sacrifice by the access to promising markets such as China. Dominate platforms where citizens inform, and where they were born political movements able to shake the international order, but which are also uncontrollable sources of misinformation and fuel for phenomena populists and extremists.

If the decisions taken by tech giants like Google, Facebook or Apple will increasingly have an impact in the life of sovereign nations, should these companies sit at the table of the great, and to be treated as countries? Denmark thinks that yes. In January, Copenhagen became the first capital in the world to announce that he would appoint an ambassador to conduct the relations between the Danish State and the multinational companies technological.

large companies "affect both the Denmark as entire countries," she told the newspaper Politiken the minister of Foreign Affairs, Anders Samuelsen. "These companies have become a new species of countries, and we have to react to it," he added.

The ambassador, whose name has not yet been announced, will have the same status as any Danish representative: a diplomatic passport and the whole machinery of the MFA in Copenhagen at your disposal. Not only will have a real embassy, by an expert in innovation diplomatic Martin Marcussen told the Politiken that the post is mainly "symbolic".

"it Will be like the ambassador for the Arctic. You will have a cabinet that summarize in practice to the ambassador himself. Will have that title and you will be able to travel, but it is only one person, so do not expect anything great," said Marcussen.

With the title still to be designed by the Government to the nordic centre-right, discusses the field of action of the future ambassador. It can act as a kind of lobbyist, attracting investment of large companies – the Facebook is building a data center by 55,000 square feet in Odense. On the other hand, would be a link between Copenhagen and the giants of the technological in the resolution of disputes such as that recently opposed the Apple to Washington, when the company refused to yield encrypted data from the iPhone of the presumed author of the attack of San Bernardino to the north american justice.

If the importance and influence of the growing of these companies explains the need for a new approach on the part of governments, the decision of Copenhagen to create a position with the diplomatic unheard of is not received entirely consensual. In an opinion article in the Forbes, the technology journalist Emma Woollacott argues that the appointment of an ambassador is "a thought" which "sets a worrying precedent".

"companies are not countries. When appointing an ambassador, and to put explicitly the two things on the same level as [the minister] Samuelsen suggests that what counts is the money. If you have enough money, the Government not only gives you special attention as it confers a political status unique," writes Woollacott.

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The power of money explains only partially the decision of Copenhagen, because in fact there are many companies financially more powerful than the Google or Microsoft – for the most wealthy who are its leaders and founders.

let’s Look at a study in 2016 of the NGO Global Justice Now, cited by the World Economic Forum, which listed the one hundred largest economic entities in the world by volume of revenue. Of these, 69 were companies. Only 31 were sovereign nations. If the list of the first ten continued to be dominated by countries – the United States first, followed by China and Germany, with the supermarket chain Walmart to appear on the tenth place – the Apple appeared on the 25.Th position and the Alphabet (the legal name of empire Google) 132.Th. Portugal would be in the 97.Nd place, behind Microsoft (92.No.). But ahead of the giants in technology continue to be companies linked to oil, the automotive sector, banking and distribution.

The economic power of states is increasingly challenged by large multinational companies, but not only by producing the smartphone and control the social networks. In the post-world-Trump-and post-Arab Spring, Copenhagen recognize especially the extraordinary influence of media and political of the giants in technology – only the Facebook account this time with 1.8 billion active users monthly. Of the rest, in 2016, the magazine Foreign Policy has named Eric Schmidt, chairman of Google, as diplomat of the year. In brief, you can talk equal to equal with a representative of Denmark.