From right to repair to app store monopolies, they have invested in this walled garden, but they forgot to get permit to erect those walls in the first place.
Look at the world of pharmaceuticals. Drugs are way more expensive in the US than most other countries. Big pharma companies make nearly all of their profits in the US.
I wouldn’t be surprised if they do so just to spite.
Tech companies can definitely put up lots of hurdles here and might even manage to defeat their customers. But at least there will be some possibility to work around it…
I wonder how sustainable this is. If the US imposed the same regulations on drug makers that the EU does, would there be a material effect on quantity or quality of drugs available across the entire globe? To what extent is the US subsidizing the low cost other countries like to brag about?
None whatsoever. It's preposterous to even consider it in a serious manner.
One simple change the US could make is to direct the FDA to fast-track approval for drugs that have been approved in other countries the US considers to have high enough standards of rigour, such as the EU or Canada.
For instance, most online services can be reasonably provided to noscript/basic (x)html browsers.
There are no permits for colonization.