https://www.brookings.edu/articles/are-tariffs-big-techs-new-tool-against-eu-regulation/
Big Tech may have found its answer to the EU’s digital competition and content moderation policies: tariffs. “We will work with President Trump to put pressure on governments around the world,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said. “The ever-growing number of laws in Europe that institutionalize censorship” was number one on Zuckerberg’s list of targets. The only way Meta “can counter this global trend is with the support of the US government,” he explained.
Combining censorship claims with Donald Trump’s sympathy for tariffs could be the leverage Big Tech is looking for to counter the EU’s digital policies. Mark Zuckerberg appears poised to lead that effort. By portraying the EU’s actions as “institutionalizing censorship” and claiming that the EU is “going after American companies and pushing for more censorship,” Zuckerberg is pushing all the right MAGA buttons to provide the Trump administration with a rationale for fighting the EU’s decisions.
The EU has passed several laws to try to provide oversight to Big Tech’s previously unregulated activities. It started in 2018 with privacy protections under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In 2022, the European Parliament passed the Digital Markets Act (DMA) to address the lack of competition in the digital marketplace. In 2024, the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act was passed, establishing a regulatory framework for artificial intelligence.
Wall Street analysts have hailed Mark Zuckerberg as the “best CEO of our time” for his ability to align Meta’s personal interests with the prevailing political winds. The emerging “censorship versus trade” narrative is a powerful, if not calculated, political move. Threatening tariffs in response to EU digital rules could be a strategy that appeals to Trump.
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