Last week, the US President signed a memorandum warning to review the EU's Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) to protect US companies "from overseas extortion".
On February 23 local time, it was reported that the chairman of the US House Judiciary Committee wrote a letter to the Executive Vice - President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Competition, asking her to clarify how the EU will enforce regulations governing large technology companies. The letter also claimed that the EU's relevant regulations seem to target US companies and may benefit China.
Notably, the EU official said last week that the EU plans to make a ruling in March on whether Apple and Meta have violated EU regulations.
The EU's Digital Markets Act came into force on March 7, 2024. The act aims to strengthen the supervision of large online platforms and curb their unfair competition and monopolistic practices. Companies such as Alphabet (Google's parent company), Amazon, Apple, Meta (Facebook's parent company), Microsoft, and ByteDance have been designated as "Gatekeepers" and will be subject to strict supervision.
The letter writer stated, "I am writing to express our concerns that the Digital Markets Act may target US companies." He also said that these EU regulations may impose heavy regulatory burdens on US companies, giving European enterprises an advantage.
The letter criticized the EU's provision in the Digital Markets Act that fines non - compliant companies up to 10% of their global annual revenue. "These severe fines seem to have two purposes: forcing companies to follow European standards globally and acting as a form of taxation on US companies by the EU."
The letter also claimed that some provisions of the Digital Markets Act may be beneficial to China and criticized the regulations for "killing innovation and dampening the enthusiasm for research and development", and for handing over a large amount of very valuable patent data to companies and so - called "hostile countries".
A congressman from Wisconsin and the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Regulatory Reform and Antitrust co - signed the letter. He and the main writer urged the EU official to explain the situation to the US House Judiciary Committee by March 10. The European Commission did not respond to a request for comment on the 23rd.
The previous US administration has long criticized the EU for having too many rules and described the EU's fines on US technology companies as a form of "tax". The US Vice - President claimed earlier this month that the EU is suppressing freedom of speech, accusing a clause in the EU's Digital Services Act that gives the EU the power to temporarily restrict access to online platforms or search engines in emergencies.
According to a press release on the White House website, the US President signed a memorandum on February 21 local time, stating that the current US administration will consider taking measures such as tariffs to counter the actions and policies of foreign governments, such as imposing digital service taxes and fines on US companies, in order to "protect US companies and innovators from overseas extortion".
The press release pointed out that regulations such as the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act, which govern how US companies interact with EU consumers, will be reviewed by the US government.
Since March last year, Apple and Meta have been the focus of the EU's attention. If they are found to have violated the EU's Digital Markets Act, they may face huge fines of up to 10% of their global annual revenue. The EU official said in an interview last week that the EU plans to make a ruling in March on whether Apple and Meta have violated EU regulations.
The EU official, who is the "second - most powerful official" after the President of the European Commission, pointed out that while Europe needs to negotiate with the White House and listen to the US's concerns on trade issues, the EU should not be forced to modify laws that have already been passed by its parliamentarians.
She also said that the previous US actions have undermined the "trust relationship" between the US and Europe, and Brussels should strive to provide the predictability and stability that Washington lacks.