Major US tech companies have become more vocal in their opposition to tighter EU regulation of the digital market, believing that support from the Donald Trump administration will allow them to combat what they see as an obstacle to the development of the digital technology and AI market, the Financial Times reports.
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Adding to the companies’ confidence, Vice President JD Vance, while visiting Europe, denounced the bloc’s “onerous international” rules and called for AI regulation that “doesn’t stifle” the rapidly growing sector.
Silicon Valley is lobbying the EU to impose restrictions on the implementation of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which is designed to combat market abuse by large online platforms and allows for large fines to be imposed on violators, according to sources told the Financial Times.
Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president of the European Commission for technological sovereignty, security and democracy, told the Financial Times that Europe was “fully committed to ensuring that the rules are respected” despite US pressure.
However, this month the European Commission withdrew its Liability Rules for Artificial Intelligence, which allowed tech companies to be fined for any damage caused by AI tools or systems. Virkkunen explained that the regulator’s decision was made under pressure from US tech companies to encourage investment in AI.
The next clash between companies and regulators is expected in April over the adoption of the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice, which will set out how companies can implement the rules of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act, such as how they should deal with “systemic” AI risks.
Meta✴ has already made it clear that it will not sign up to the code, with its chief lobbyist Joel Kaplan declaring in Brussels earlier this month that the document imposes “unworkable and technically impossible requirements.” He also warned that without a U.S.-European partnership on AI, China has no chance of winning the AI race.
Apple, Meta✴ and Google’s parent company Alphabet have been subject to probes since the DMA came into force in 2023. But after Trump’s election victory, the European Commission is reconsidering its positions on these investigations.