Schrems's battle is one of many regulatory challenges U.S. technology companies are facing in Europe. Google is being investigated for antitrust violations related to its search engine, advertising business and Android mobile operating system. Apple is facing what could be a multi-billion-dollar tax bill for unpaid taxes in Ireland. And while Privacy Shield effects the trans-Atlantic movement of data, new rules starting in 2018 could have a tougher effect about how technology companies collect data within Europe.
Taken together, the issues are challenging the borderless view adopted by technology companies that what they've created in the U.S. will transfer seamlessly abroad. The technology industry has warned against the "Balkanization" of the internet, where a patchwork of regional laws creates different internet experiences based on location. Schrems doesn't see that as such a bad thing -- likening it to McDonald's changing its menu to appeal to local markets. "There's this idea that one size fits all and the one size is made in Silicon Valley," Schrems says.
Schrems is happy he helped dent that view in Europe, but after being supported largely with family support during his legal tussles with Facebook, he still has a PhD dissertation to complete that he hasn't made much progress on for about a year. He says he may eventually establish a non-governmental organization that will investigate and sue companies for privacy violations. "I’m basically working from home without any infrastructure and we still got a huge case done," he says. "If you put that in a professional setting, you could possibly get a lot done."