On 6 May 2015, the European Commission announced its plans to accelerate the creation of a digital single market across the EU. The new EU strategy will have a significant impact on sectors such as e-commerce, media and entertainment, telecoms and the provision of online services.

Overtly designed to unite consumers of digital services across all 28 EU countries and to create a stronger indigenous European digital economy, the subtext to the proposals is the European Commission’s desire to address inequalities in the market for digital services, which it sees as being dominated by global digital superpowers, largely headquartered outside the EU.