The Trump administration’s drive to protect and expand US technological dominance is increasingly clashing with Europe’s strict approach to regulating Big Tech, setting the stage for a broader transatlantic dispute that could spill into trade negotiations.
The administration has been urging the European Union to scale back its regulatory pressure on American technology companies, arguing that European rules unfairly target US firms and restrict free speech. At the same time, President Donald Trump has promoted lighter regulation at home, particularly in fast-growing areas such as artificial intelligence.
The push follows comments made by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg shortly before Trump’s inauguration, when he said he hoped for a White House ally willing to challenge foreign regulations he claimed were forcing American platforms to “censor more” content. Since then, the administration has taken an increasingly confrontational stance toward Europe.
Last month, tensions escalated after the US threatened penalties against European tech firms and attempted to block prominent tech safety researchers and a regulator from entering the country. The moves underscored a widening philosophical divide between Washington and Brussels over how technology companies should be governed.
European regulators, long seen as global leaders in tech legislation, argue that rules such as the Digital Services Act (DSA) and Digital Markets Act (DMA) are designed to promote online safety, protect free expression, and ensure fair competition. US officials and Republican lawmakers, however, have framed many content moderation requirements as censorship, a view echoed by several Silicon Valley executives facing steep fines under EU law.
That disagreement is now drawing tech policy into the center of US-EU trade relations, especially as the Trump administration views rapid, largely unrestricted advances in artificial intelligence as critical to economic growth and national security.
“There’s a collision between the administration’s complaints about censorship and the desire of some Big Tech firms to roll back Europe’s digital laws entirely,” said Lindsay Gorman of the German Marshall Fund. “EU officials have made it clear they will not be bullied.”
The dispute is not new. During Trump’s first term, US officials sharply criticized the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation after it took effect in 2018. More recently, enforcement actions under the DMA and DSA have intensified tensions. In April, the EU fined Apple and Meta a combined €700 million, while in December it imposed a €140 million penalty on X over what regulators described as deceptive design practices.
Trump has repeatedly denounced such fines, threatening tariff investigations and accusing the EU of unfairly targeting American companies. European officials reject those claims, insisting their laws apply equally to all firms operating within the bloc.
With both sides digging in, analysts warn that the conflict over tech regulation could become a defining issue in US-EU relations during Trump’s second term.
