> but tech is global and there are more people in the EU than the US
Why would population number be the determining factor on anything? The world obviously doesn't operate based on direct democracy. India having 1.4 billion people doesn't give it a greater ability to dictate anything vs the EU, US or China. It comes down to power (always will, always has). For example, the US - for now - has the ability to dictate certain things to China on trade restrictions, given the US technology advantage. China is a legitimate superpower economically, has four times the population, and yet the US can still do that.
If the premise is consumer numbers: the US still has the EU beat even with fewer consumers, with a far larger, far more valuable economy.
Besides all of that, naturally each country (or as a union), to the extent it can, will attempt to set its own rules for tech. The US will do so, the EU will do so, China will do so, etc.
In the US. It is different in the EU. I know HN is US-centric, but tech is global and there are more people in the EU than the US.