In a candid exit interview with The New York Times, Margrethe Vestager, the European Union's outgoing competition chief, expressed regret over not taking stronger action against Big Tech companies during her tenure. Despite imposing billions of dollars in fines on companies like Apple and Google, Vestager acknowledged that a handful of major platforms still dominate the online consumer experience, making her decade-long tenure only "partly successful."

Vestager's comments come as she approaches the end of her term, and her reflections on her time in office offer a nuanced assessment of the EU's efforts to regulate the tech industry. While her office has been instrumental in introducing landmark regulations like the Digital Markets Act, Vestager acknowledges that the full impact of these measures won't be felt for years to come. This means that her legacy may require a longer time to assess.

However, Vestager's regret is telling, and her remarks convey a sense of a window of opportunity to reset the rules of the web being lost. Her advice to regulators everywhere now is to be "bolder" in their approach to regulating the tech industry. This sentiment is particularly noteworthy given the ongoing efforts by regulators around the world to rein in the power of Big Tech.

Vestager's comments also come as the US Department of Justice proposes to break up Google, a move that she seems to support. "We are in the business of deterrence," she said, emphasizing the need for regulators to use their most powerful tools to ensure that companies comply with the law. "If we do not once in a while use our most powerful tools, there's no deterrence."

The implications of Vestager's remarks are far-reaching, and they underscore the ongoing challenges that regulators face in trying to keep pace with the rapidly evolving tech industry. As the EU and other jurisdictions around the world continue to grapple with the complexities of regulating Big Tech, Vestager's call to be "bolder" serves as a reminder that the stakes are high, and the consequences of inaction could be severe.

In the end, Vestager's legacy will be shaped by the long-term impact of her efforts to regulate the tech industry. While her tenure may have been "partly successful," her reflections offer a valuable lesson for regulators everywhere: that the pursuit of a fair and level playing field in the tech industry requires a willingness to take bold action, even in the face of powerful opposition.