Henna Virkkunen denies softer approach to Big Tech after Trump’s return

A leading EU official rejected a softer approach to Big Tech, citing a “very clear legal basis” for regulators and pointing to several ongoing investigations into the likes of the social media platform. X and Meta.

FT informed Earlier this week, the EU was reassessing the investigations apple, Google and Meta – a process that could ultimately lead to the downsizing or refocusing of the EU’s executive arm, the European Commission.

However, speaking to CNBC on Thursday, Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s executive vice president for technological sovereignty, pushed back.

“Our Digital Services Act came into force more than a year ago, and we can say that there are several official processes against all major platforms: Meta platforms, Instagram, Facebook, as well as X and TikTok,” said Virkkunen.

“We are continuing the work, so no new decisions have been made. So we are investigating whether they are in accordance with our rules,” he said.

The Digital Services Act or DSA, which comes into full force in 2024, empowers EU institutions to regulate Big Tech in order to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and limit disinformation.

However, despite these new powers, there are growing questions about how the EU will actually enforce the rules, especially after President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House.

“It remains to be seen what the EU will do as some investigations go further than others, but it is also clear that US tech companies will try to use the Trump administration to circumvent EU rules,” said Dexter Thillien, lead analyst. This was reported to CNBC by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

comes as technology industry trying to do take it easy Trump is on the verge of a second presidential term. There will be Tesla’s Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Zuckerberg Attend Trump’s inauguration Next week, according to NBC News.

Last week, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg called on the new US president to look at the EU’s approach to Big Tech, saying the bloc’s way of applying competition rules was “almost like a tariff”.

EU official Virkkunen is one of a new team of politicians who took office in December as members of the EU’s executive branch. Until now, the bloc has been considered a leader in tech regulation and has opened the door to several investigations into the behavior of Big Tech companies.

Asked if he was considering a more lenient approach to the sector, Virkkunen said: “Europe has a very clear legal framework and regulatory rules, and of course we are now fully enforcing those rules.”

Virkkunen did not say whether he felt pressured by Trump’s return to the White House. Instead, he said, “All companies, whether American, European or Chinese, must respect EU rules.”

It was Musk’s X in December 2023 It was hit by the first EU investigation Under the Digital Services Act. It is the European Commission To evaluate whether X breached its transparency obligations and duties to combat illegal content.

At the time, the agency said it was specifically evaluating areas related to risk management, content moderation, dark patterns, ad transparency and access to data for researchers.

As Musk continued Far-right court on the eve of elections in Germany — including hosting live discussion With AfD party leader Alice Weidel – there are questions about whether the European Commission will consider this conversation as part of the investigation.

“It’s not about Elon Musk. It’s about X,” Virkkunen said.

“X (is) a very big online platform, they have to take their responsibilities and assess and mitigate the risks, for example, of what they post for electoral processes and civil debate. But the (European) commission is already investigating X for this and the scope of the investigation is already quite broad,” he said. , “we are always watching” if new developments occur, he said.