Trump's 'Discriminatory' Tech Regulation Claims Attract EU Pushback, Brussels Cites Action Against Tiktok, Temu To Make Its Point
The EU has rejected former President Trump's claims that its digital regulations unfairly target U.S. tech companies, citing recent enforcement actions against Chinese-owned platforms like TikTok and Temu as evidence of neutrality. Trump criticized the regulations for imposing high costs on U.S. firms and threatened tariffs unless the EU changes its stance. The U.S. is also considering visa bans on EU officials involved in the Digital Services Act (DSA), which mandates quicker removal of harmful content from large platforms.
On Tuesday, the EU firmly rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's accusations that its landmark digital regulations unfairly target American tech giants, pointing to the last three enforcement actions against Chinese-owned AliExpress, Temu and TikTok as proof of neutrality.
EU Rejects Trump's Allegations Of Bias
The European Commission dismissed Trump's claims that the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act were designed to discriminate against U.S. companies, reported Reuters.
A Commission spokesperson said the last three enforcement decisions under the DSA were aimed at Chinese-owned companies. The Commission has also launched DSA-related investigations into both Elon Musk's X and Meta Platforms Inc. META.
The DSA is not asking platforms to remove content arbitrarily but to enforce their own terms and conditions, the spokesperson said, adding that more than 99% of content moderation decisions taken in the EU are proactively done by platforms themselves.
Trump Threatens Tariffs And Sanctions
On Monday, Trump sharply criticized Europe's tech regulations, arguing they impose disproportionate costs on U.S. firms like Meta, Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google and Apple Inc. AAPL.
On Truth Social, he accused Europe of giving Chinese competitors a complete pass and warned of "substantial additional tariffs" unless the EU reverses what he called "discriminatory actions" against American companies.
Reuters also reported that Trump's administration is considering visa bans on EU officials responsible for implementing the DSA, a highly unusual move in a trade dispute.
Washington Steps Up Diplomatic Pressure
Previously, Secretary of State Marco Rubio directed U.S. diplomats to lobby EU governments to amend or roll back the legislation. In May, Rubio publicly warned of potential visa restrictions for officials accused of "censoring Americans."
The DSA, which took effect last year, mandates that large online platforms act faster to remove illegal or harmful content, while the DMA seeks to limit the market dominance of tech "gatekeepers."
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