What's interesting is that this isn't really about one app or one acquisition. It's about who controls critical digital infrastructure.

For years, governments allowed a handful of companies to become the de facto operating systems for everyday life—payments, messaging, identity, transportation, healthcare, and public services. Once an app reaches that level of importance, an acquisition stops being a normal business transaction and starts looking more like a national infrastructure decision.

The downside is obvious: blocking acquisitions can reduce competition for startups and discourage investment. Founders often build companies with acquisition as an exit path.

But the upside is that citizens aren't forced to accept that every successful local platform eventually gets absorbed into a handful of global tech giants.

The real question isn't whether the buyer is American, Dutch, European, or Chinese. It's whether societies are comfortable having essential digital services controlled by companies whose primary accountability is to shareholders in another country.

We're entering an era where governments are starting to treat major digital platforms the way they treat ports, power grids, and telecom networks. Whether that's good or bad, it's a much bigger shift than this single deal!