Europe’s reputation as a “super-regulator” has placed its laws at the center of a growing conflict between American and European officials. This tension has been further amplified since the Trump administration took office on January 20, 2025, with several notable statements and developments highlighting the clash over the enforcement of Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA), the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the AI Act.

Tech Policy Press is tracking key public statements from US and EU officials, tech industry representatives, and other stakeholders. We will continue to update this tracker intermittently. To suggest an entry, contact us.

Vice President JD Vance’s Comments at the AI Action Summit in Paris

Reuters, February 11, 2025

“The Trump administration is troubled by reports that some foreign governments are considering tightening screws on US tech companies with international footprints. America cannot and will not accept that, and we think it’s a terrible mistake.”

“Number two, we believe that excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry just as it’s taking off, and we’ll make every effort to encourage pro-growth AI policies, and I’d like to see that deregulatory flavor making its way into a lot of the conversations at this conference.”

US House Judiciary Chair, Congressman Jim Jordan (R-OH) Sends Letter to EU’s Henna Virkkunen

Politico, January 31, 2025

“‘We write to express our serious concerns with how the DSA’s censorship provisions affect free speech in the United States,’ Jordan writes in the letter to Virkkunen, obtained by POLITICO.”

“Jordan’s letter states that the DSA could ‘restrict Americans’ constitutionally protected speech in the United States’ — even if the rulebook only applies to the EU.”

President Donald J. Trump’s Speech at Davos

Bloomberg, January 23, 2025

“‘These are American companies whether you like it or not,’ Trump said in comments at the World Economic Forum in Davos. ‘They shouldn’t be doing that. That’s, as far as I’m concerned, a form of taxation. We have some very big complaints with the EU.'”

“Trump specifically referenced a court case that Apple lost last year over a €13 billion ($14.4 billion) Irish tax bill.”

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg Introduces Sweeping Changes to Company’s Content Moderation Systems

Facebook, January 7, 2025 – Company

“Europe has an ever-increasing number of laws, institutionalizing censorship, and making it difficult to build anything innovative there.”

Joe Rogan Experience, January 10, 2025

“If some other country was screwing with another industry that we cared about, the US government would probably find some way to put pressure on them, but I think what happened here is actually the complete opposite.”

“The US government led the kind of attack against the companies, which then just made it so the EU is basically in all these other places, just free to just go to town on all the American companies and do whatever you want.”

Apple CEO Tim Cook, Reportedly Complains to Trump About EU Fines

BBC, October 18, 2024

“Donald Trump has claimed he received a phone call on Thursday from Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook, in which the tech boss shared concerns about the European Union.”

“He says Mr Cook told him he was concerned about recent financial penalties issued by the EU, which ordered Apple to pay Ireland €13bn (£11bn; $14bn) in unpaid taxes in September.”

EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen at the Paris AI Summit

Politico, February 11, 2025

“When we are doing business in other countries we have to respect their rules. When it comes to our digital rules in the European Union they are very fair, they are the same rules for everybody, for American companies, for European … for China’s companies…”

“The EU’s regulatory framework should be ‘innovation-friendly.’”

EU Member States Urge European Commission to Enforce DSA

Euronews, January 31, 2025

“The ministers are asking the Commission to urgently safeguard European elections by ‘accelerating ongoing investigations’ under the DSA – the EU’s content moderation law.”

Reuters, January 30, 2025

“France, Germany and 10 other European Union countries want the European Commission to use its powers under the Digital Services Act to protect the integrity of European elections from foreign interference, a letter signed by the 12 countries showed.”

“’The escalating threats of foreign interference and disruptive interventions in public debates during key electoral events represent a direct challenge to our stability and sovereignty,’ the letter, seen by Reuters, said.”

Letter from Parliament’s Working Group on the Implementation of the DMA and MEPs Urging Swift Enforcement by the European Commission

Public letter, January 23, 2025

“… we write to express our concerns regarding the potential risk of delay in the ongoing enforcement. These views are shared by several other Members of the European Parliament.”

“While we commend the European Commission for the steps already taken to enforce the DMA, we are concerned about potential delays in critical investigations. Such delays could hinder the benefits of the DMA. We strongly urge the Commission to expedite the ongoing non-compliance investigations and to meet the deadline of 25 March 2025 demonstrating EU’s proactive commitment to digital regulation and fairness.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pushes EU Leaders to Take Action at Davos

Politico, January 22, 2025

“Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Wednesday that tech billionaires want to use social media ‘to overthrow democracy’ — adding he’ll push EU leaders to take action.”

“‘The technology that was intended to free us has become the tool of our own oppression,’ he said during a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. ‘The social media that was supposed to bring unity, clarity and democracy have instead given us division, vice and a reactionary agenda.’”

“Sánchez said that at the next meeting of European Union leaders in Brussels he will propose that the bloc move to ‘make social media great again’ by imposing regulations and going after their billionaire owners. Among other measures he proposed fighting bots and fake profiles by requiring that users digitally identify themselves, and using the Digital Services Act to go after tech barons whose sites undermine democracy.”

MEP’s Grapple with Implications of Trump Presidency

Euronews, January 20, 2025

“German lawmaker Axel Voss (EPP) told Euronews in a statement prior to the broadcast that ‘During the US election campaign, we have already seen disturbing interference from Elon Musk on X, pushing algorithms with his own political beliefs.'”

“‘As a European Union we need to stand up against platform owners that interfere in our free elections. We need to stand up against fake news. And we cannot accept for social media platforms to become a legal vacuum,’ Voss added.”

EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen Briefing to Reporters on DMA and DSA Enforcement

Reuters, January 15, 2025

“The European Commission will fully enforce its rules governing social media and other large online platforms and has not delayed any cases against U.S. Big Tech, the EU digital chief said on Wednesday.”

“’There haven’t been any delays,’ Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen told reporters, referring to the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes antitrust obligations and the Digital Services Act (DSA), which covers content moderation.”

EU Commissioner Henna Virkkunen Responds to Mark Zuckerberg’s Criticisms of DSA

Source: Politico, January 10, 2025

“Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg was not telling the truth when he said the European Union was institutionalizing censorship, the bloc’s top tech official said.”

“‘We know that it’s not true,’ European Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen told POLITICO. ‘In Europe freedom of speech is one of our fundamental values and it’s also respected and protected [in] our Digital Services Act. So it’s very misleading also to say that.’”

Civil Society Letter Urges EU President Not to Weaken Enforcement of DSA and DMA

The Guardian, January 29, 2025

“A coalition of NGOs has urged the president of the European Commission not to be bullied by Donald Trump and Elon Musk into weakening the enforcement of the EU’s tech regulations.”

“The letter said that big tech companies had already created ‘an unfair digital economy’ that had ‘directly impacted the dynamism and pluralism of Europe’s economy.’”

“It went on: ‘Re-introducing contestability, fairness and choice to the digital market will already be a difficult task. If we pause or weaken enforcement, we risk making it impossible. Europe must not be bullied by the likes of Musk and Trump into weakening its DSA and DMA enforcement.’”

Coalition of App Fairness Letter Urging Effective Implementation of DMA

Joint statement, January 28, 2025

“We write to you today with urgent concerns about certain designated gatekeepers’ disregard for the effective implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), and the devastating impact this is having on the EU’s tech sector’s competitiveness and potential for growth.”

“We urge the European Commission to take immediate and decisive action, by first concluding the ongoing non-compliance investigations and by using all the tools it has available in the DMA. Breaking the law should no longer be a profitable business strategy.”