The EU is cutting back tech regulation to spur investments in artificial intelligence, not because of pressure from US Big Tech companies and the Trump administration, the bloc’s digital chief has said.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s executive vice-president in charge of digital policy, told the Financial Times the EU wanted to “help and support” companies when applying AI rules, as the bloc sought to boost competitiveness and not miss the boat on this technology.
Brussels needed to ensure “that we are not creating more reporting obligations for our companies”, she said.
US President Donald Trump has threatened to retaliate against the EU for the fines it slapped on US tech companies. His return to the White House has emboldened Silicon Valley executives in their claim that the EU’s regulatory grip is hurting their companies.
At an AI summit in Paris earlier this week, US vice-president JD Vance lashed out against “onerous international” rules targeting Big Tech.
The commission has since announced it was withdrawing a planned AI liability directive as part of a broader push for deregulation. Virkkunen also said that an upcoming code of practice on AI, expected in April, will limit reporting requirements to what is included in the existing AI rules.
The EU’s recently adopted AI Act classifies the technology into three categories based on the risks they pose to human health and security, for instance if they have any medical application, or if they are being deployed in public transport. The higher the risk category, the bigger the reporting requirements.
Powerful AI models, such as OpenAI’s GPT-4 and Google Gemini, also face extra obligations, such as having to be more transparent about how models are trained.
Google and Meta, the owner of Facebook, have been criticising the code. Meta’s top lobbyist Joel Kaplan said in Brussels earlier this month that the code risked imposing “unworkable and technically unfeasible requirements”.
But Virkkunen insisted the deregulatory push is driven by the EU’s own ambition to enhance its competitiveness, and not “dependent on the US”.
“We are very committed to cut bureaucracy and red tape,” she said.
Brussels had no plans to weaken enforcement of its rules governing online platforms, which “are working” to ensure a level playing field, she said.
So far, Big Tech has been largely complying with EU rules, given that the bloc “is one of the biggest markets” for US companies.
“We are open for business, but we also want to make sure that we are protecting our own values and our way of life,” Virkkunen said.
“Our digital world can’t be a wild west where there are no rules.”
Additional reporting by Melissa Heikkilä
