Sovereign right

EU resists Trump: Tech regulation is our ‘sovereign’ right

U.S. president launches attack on Europe’s digital rules, drawing opposition from Brussels.

By Elena Giordano

The European Commission on Tuesday defended the bloc’s right to set and enforce its own tech rules, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to impose new tariffs on countries with digital policies he considers “discriminatory.”

"It is the sovereign right of the EU and its member states to regulate economic activities on our territory, which are consistent with our democratic values," European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said during an afternoon briefing.

Trump, in a post on Truth Social, threatened to "impose substantial additional Tariffs" and place export restrictions on technology and chips on countries with digital rules he deemed to be discriminatory to American companies.

The bombshell missive landed just days after Trump and Brussels issued a statement to formalize their tariff truce, provisionally established at Turnberry in Scotland in late July.

"As the President of the United States, I will stand up to Countries that attack our incredible American Tech Companies, " Trump said. “America, and American Technology Companies, are neither the 'piggy bank' nor the 'doormat' of the World any longer. Show respect to America and our amazing Tech Companies or, consider the consequences!” he railed.

The Trump administration and some of its tech allies have repeatedly attacked the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), its flagship social media platform regulation, accusing the bloc of censorship and claiming the law would impose costs on U.S. companies.

The DSA regulates major online platforms, search engines and e-commerce. Services with more than 45 million EU users — including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok — must assess and limit risks like misinformation and harm to minors, according to the legislation.

Responding to Trump’s claim that EU legislation was “attacking” American tech companies, Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier insisted that the rules are neutral.

“The DSA does not look at the color of a company, at the jurisdiction of a company, nor the owner of a company,” he said. “The DSA and the DMA both apply to all platforms and companies operating in the EU irrespective of their place of establishment … The last three enforcement decisions that we took were against AliExpress, Temu and against TikTok.”

The Digital Markets Act (DMA), alongside the DSA, is a cornerstone of the EU’s digital policy. While the DSA sets obligations for online platforms on issues like misinformation and child safety, the DMA looks at so-called gatekeeper firms — tech giants such as Google, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and TikTok — requiring them to open up their services and ensure fair competition.

Regnier attempted to underline that Brussels and Washington share common ground on many issues. “We share views with our U.S. counterparts on a lot of these issues ... When we talk about the DSA, it’s protection of kids online, the protection of election integrity online. We have a lot of points where we are actually working hand in hand with the U.S.,” he said, noting that disagreements concern only “very tiny aspects” of the legislation.

During a conference in Alpbach on Tuesday, the head of the Commission’s trade department Sabine Weyand said the EU is “familiar with the concerns expressed by successive U.S. administrations about our regulations.”

But, she added, “We have always been very clear, our regulation is nondiscriminatory and we will apply it as decided by our democratic institutions. That is not up for concessions or negotiations with other countries. That doesn’t change.”