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EU Plans to Step Up Enforcement of Digital Rules in the Face of US Opposition

By  |  January 5, 2026
Revamp of the EU's Rules on Vertical Agreements: It's About the (Digital) Economy, Stupid!

The European Commission is planning to step up enforcement of the Digital Markets and Digital Services Act in 2026, even as it prepares to simplify the laws’ rules through new legislation. Officials in Brussels told the Financial Times the Commission is probing new areas of potential enforcement that could spark new clashes with U.S. technology giants such as Google, Meta, Apple and X.

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    The effort is in part a direct challenge to the Trump administration, which has demanded changes to the EU digital rules and threatened new tariffs over what it views as unfair treatment of American companies. Just before Christmas, the State Department issued new visa restrictions against five EU officials and NGO executives it accused of coercing digital platforms into censoring the speech of Americans. Among those sanctioned was former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton, whom the department called the “mastermind” behind the DSA.

    “There have been moments that we have needed to, where I have needed to, stand up and say: sorry, but we’re not going to undo our regulation just because you don’t like [it],” the EU’s competition chief Teresa Ribera told the FT.

    The latest exchange of jabs follows a €120 million ($140.6 million) fine the EU levied on X in December over violations of transparency rules under the DSA. The fine prompted a series of anti-EU statements by U.S. officials and led X owner Elon Musk to call to “abolish the EU.” Separately, Apple called on the EU to repeal the DMA in September, per Reuters, after the Commission forced the iPhone-maker to make changes to the App Store.

    Related: UK Treasury Eying New Rules for Crypto Firms

    The latest escalation comes at a delicate time for the EU, the FT notes. Officials are keen to avoid triggering a transatlantic trade war or provoking the U.S. to side with Russia in its war against Ukraine even as it looks to step up enforcement of its digital rules.

    “The enforcement of EU digital regulations has been made more challenging by the aggressive stance taken by the US administration,” Damien Geradin, an antitrust lawyer who has represented companies in probes against Google and others, told FT.

    At the same time, the Commission has faced growing internal pressure from EU lawmakers and civil society groups to step up investigations into more sensitive areas, including the spread of illegal content on X and other digital platforms, TikTok’s alleged role in interfering with EU elections, and possible anticompetitive actions by AI companies. Even enforcement efforts up to now have been criticized as “too little, too late,” by some in the European Parliament.

    “There is an attack on our democracy going on, led by the tech oligarchs on social media, and we’re not really defending ourselves,” Green Party MEP Alexandra Geese said.

    The new enforcement moves also come as the European Commission is seeking to boost European competitiveness with the U.S. and China by paring back some of its digital regulations. In November the Commission released a package of proposed amendments to the AI Act and the GDPR, as well as clarifying the definitions of personal data and other privacy-related terms in various digital regulations. The proposed changes now go to the European Parliament for debate and must also be approved by the Council of Europe.