Europe is trying to censor American speech while Big Tech is trying to rig American markets. Washington must be smart enough to fight one without protecting the other.
As the trade fight escalates with the European Union, pushing back against Europe’s abuse of American technology companies is necessary, but it doesn’t mean defending Big Tech in the name of America First.
This month, the Trump administration aggressively challenged Europe’s long record of unfair trade practices, and further escalation is expected. This includes confronting Europe’s treatment of the U.S. technology industry, where Brussels has increasingly used regulation as a weapon against American success rather than a tool for fair competition.
EXPERTS URGE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO TAKE TOUGH STANCE AGAINST EU REGULATIONS TARGETING US
Congress has also taken notice. Recently, lawmakers held a hearing titled “Europe’s Threat to American Speech and Innovation,” underscoring growing concern that European regulators are using censorship and control under the guise of regulation.
For years now, Europe has targeted U.S. tech companies with policies designed to extract revenue, impose control, and tilt the playing field against our country. This is regulatory protectionism, and our elected leaders must use every pressure tool at their disposal to stop it.
As President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance have consistently made clear, one of the worst laws is the Digital Services Act, which pressures U.S. tech companies to comply with EU-style speech rules. It pushes American firms to censor lawful content under vague and subjective standards or risk massive fines tied to global revenue. Just last month, the European Commission issued a fine of over $140 million to X for not being “transparent” enough under the DSA.
The DSA is a terrible policy that clashes with the First Amendment, undermines core American values, and chills American investment and innovation. Pushing back against it is non-negotiable. Trump and Vance are right to confront it before European regulators export censorship and police American speech.
But not all EU tech rules are the same.
Some conservatives are making a huge mistake by lumping the Digital Markets Act into the fight against the DSA, digital services taxes, and other onerous EU regulations.
The DMA is an antitrust law designed to foster competition and prevent Big Tech gatekeepers from abusing their power and shutting American companies out of fair and open markets.
Unlike other European tech regulations that support censorship or tax American companies into oblivion, the DMA prevents market manipulation by the biggest tech companies. It focuses on conduct, not content.
The DMA targets anti-competitive conduct across app stores, search engines, operating systems, and digital advertising — consistent with how Trump-era antitrust enforcers and congressional Republicans have worked to rein in Big Tech abuses.
The companies targeted by the DMA are not small players. They include Meta for cross-platform data tracking and Google for using market dominance to favor its own products across services such as Instagram and WhatsApp.
For years, Big Tech has acted as a private regulator, shaping markets for its own enrichment.
Even though the DMA is a European regulation, it advances a core American principle: fair and open competition.
Contrary to what some argue, this isn’t a rule the United States should fight the EU over in trade talks, especially when the regulation is already producing tangible benefits for American companies.
Take Apple’s App Store. Before the DMA, Apple controlled nearly every aspect of how apps reached iPhone users — where they could be downloaded, how developers could charge customers, and what those apps could say. If you wanted access to iPhone users, you had to pay the Apple tax man up to 30% of your revenue. That is rent-seeking, not innovation.
Under the DMA, Apple has been forced to open its ecosystem to competition. In Europe, American app developers can now distribute apps through alternative app stores or directly from their own websites. They can also show pricing information and use alternative payment systems. This allows U.S. developers to keep more of their earnings while competing on quality and price — driving more choice and lower costs for consumers. That is exactly how markets are supposed to work.
RESTORING AMERICA: THE EU IS PRESSURING BIG TECH TO SILENCE AMERICANS
In their negotiations with Europe, Congress and the Trump administration should be clear about what they are trying to safeguard. The goal should not be to shield the largest technology companies from accountability. It should be to ensure that markets remain fair, open, and competitive so consumers, startups, developers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses can succeed.
America First does not mean Big Tech First. We must push back against Europe’s censorship while refusing to protect monopolies that rig the marketplace. Real leadership defends free speech, fair competition, and the American consumer — not monopolies hiding behind the flag.
Mehek Cooke, an attorney and political strategist, was a surrogate for the Trump for President Campaign and the Republican National Convention.
