Report: EU regulations cost billions for American tech companies

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

European regulators are targeting American companies with policies that stifle American competitiveness in the technology industry, according to a new report.

Consumers’ Defense, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit, released a report that highlighted how European nations’ technology regulations impede American companies from making advancements. The report focused on the EU’s Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act.

The Digital Markets Act imposes regulations on large digital companies that offer internet searching, app store and messaging services. While it applies these regulations on large companies, smaller digital companies do not have the same requirements.

Alphabet, Apple, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Booking Holdings are all restricted by the European Union’s Digital Markets Act.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick called on the E.U. to analyze its digital rules and regulations that are harming American businesses.

“Find a balanced approach that works with us,” Lutnick said. “If they can come up with that balanced approach, which I think they can, then we will, together with them, handle the steel and aluminum issues and bring that on together,” he added in reference to President Donald Trump’s tariffs on steel and aluminum.

Additionally, the Digital Services Act targets American companies by imposing speech restrictions for online content, based on the size of a companies’ platform. The majority of platforms affected by the speech restrictions are based in America.

European leaders have also floated legislation to increase fees for American companies, according to the report. Legislation would explicitly target American companies by charging specific European network fees.

Since 2018, 83% of E.U. data privacy fines have been directed at American companies. This figure represents $5.3 billion.

In a social media post, Trump called European fees “Very unfair for our Tech Companies, and for the United States of America!”

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg compared the EU’s rules to a tariff on American technology companies. Altogether, the report estimated compliance with EU regulations have cost billions of dollars for American technology companies.

“Europe’s digital policies aren’t a pursuit of ‘sovereignty,’ which they gladly sacrifice daily to the EU,” Joe Grogan, president of Public Policy Solutions said in a statement provided to The Center Square.

“They are instead punitive trade policies targeted at their most important strategic partner – America,” he added. “US tech firms lead globally because we cultivate a system of innovation. Unfortunately, European countries are increasingly seeking to throw up barriers to US tech companies, while extracting billions of dollars to subsidize domestic competitors.”

The report also highlighted how regulations on how Europe’s content regulation goals trickle down to hinder what Americans can see. Major social media companies tend to apply blanket regulations internationally, according to documents obtained by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee.

Sal Nuzzo, executive director of Consumers Defense, called on yhe Trump administration to implement security measures that protect free speech and prevent American companies from excessive fines and fees.

“European tech thrives in America’s open market, but U.S. innovators are smothered by EU regulations abroad,” Nuzzo said in a statement to TCS. “The Trump Administration should use every trade and enforcement tool to stop Europe from taxing, regulating, and censoring U.S. companies.”