The Trump administration is intensifying its antitrust efforts against major technology companies, including Meta and Apple. The European Union (EU) just penalized the biggest tech giants with not one, but three record-breaking fines. Apple had to pay a whopping €500 million fine, and Meta €200 million. As these tech giants brace for mandated changes in their business practices, they are looking to the Trump administration for support against what they perceive as unfair regulations.
The EU’s fines, which total nearly $800 million, are a result of enforcement measures under the Digital Markets Act (DMA), enacted in 2022 and coming into effect in 2024. Both Apple and Meta now need to drastically change how they do business to be in line with the EU’s new rules. Apple has publicly criticized the EU’s actions, stating that the fine and required alterations are “bad for the privacy and security of our users” and that they “force us to give away our technology for free.”
Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, took to Twitter to express concern at the new penalties. He underscored how it would ruin their advertising patriarchal model. He stated that the EU’s actions “effectively impose a multi-billion-dollar tariff on Meta while requiring us to offer an inferior service.” Perhaps it is no surprise then that many in the tech sector agree with this sentiment. They view the EU’s regulatory heavy-handedness as economic blackmail.
Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the National Security Council, echoed these concerns, labeling the EU’s fines as a “novel form of economic extortion” that “will not be tolerated by the United States.” He cautioned that extraterritorial regulations targeting American companies would hamper innovation and jeopardize free civil society. Hughes agreed that those types of measures would be understood to be non-tariff barriers to trade.
The Trump administration’s relationship with the tech sector has always been a strange one. The unprecedented landscape might lead to a re-forming of this alliance, as companies such as Meta begin defending themselves from potentially devastating EU regulations. Kaplan hinted that Meta “will not hesitate” to solicit assistance from the Trump administration to protect U.S. tech interests.
It’s hard to overstate how high the stakes are here—tensions are flaring between American tech giants and European regulators. In reply, the EU’s top economic minister, Valdis Dombrovskis, will hold meetings with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. This seemingly innocuous meeting could have serious repercussions for the future of U.S.-EU relations when it comes to regulating technologies.
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