Time is Running Out for Europe to Fix Its Misfiring Antitrust

By Arta Haxhixhemajli. Originally published on 11 April 2025 by Gript on its website.

Europe is on the wrong path with technology regulation. In the Trump era, the continent needs growth and openness, which its flagship laws do not provide. Time is running out to change direction.

The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA) aim to regulate digital services, but their framework risks holding back innovation and disproportionately targeting US companies. With the current Trump administration threatening retaliatory tariffs, transatlantic tensions could escalate, harming consumers and businesses.

The EU needs to rethink its approach and balance its market expectations. Instead of imposing and blocking cooperation, policymakers should aim for collaboration and avoid fuelling trade conflicts. Europe needs a friendlier regulatory framework, not more blockages. The time to act is now, before these regulations have more of a chance to wreak havoc withEurope’s digital economy and global competitiveness. As things stand, the current direction of Brussels’ tech regulation will backfire in the end.

Under President Trump, the US threatens retaliatory tariffs as a direct result of the DMA and DSA. If that comes to pass, it would cause untold harm to business and consumers, not to mention the future of the transatlantic business relationship, which is essential to Europe’s tech sector. The EU needs to rethink its strategy and balance market realities, instead of pushing towards blockage and tension with its aggressive regulation. Policymakers in the EU must aim for cooperation and avoid fuelling any further tension.

The European Commission has been leading a strong regulatory stance against Big Tech companies. According to their official statement, the regulatory acts are to improve competition, protect consumers’ rights, and avoid monopolistic approaches and practices by businesses and companies.

However, the reality of what is happening is different from that rhetoric. The two acts, DMA and DSA, instead of creating equilibrium and levelling the playing field, are cracking down on big American companies such as Apple, Meta, and Goggle while arguably giving undue priority to the European firms.

The rage within the US administration is understandable. A free and open market benefits everyone. European protectionism does not help European businesses and consumers in the long run, not to mention the overcautious ‘safetyism’ of European tech rules, which prioritise puritanical and impractical rulemaking ahead of growth. This approach does not improve the competition in Europe for Silicon Valley; instead, it stifles innovation and diminishes its role in the global tech ecosystem while competing with big tech giants.

The Trump administration has made clear its position: Washington will not tolerate what it sees as Brussels’ decision to launch a unilateral attack on American big tech companies. Some reports indicate US officials are pressuring the EU to clarify the regulations and how these rules will be followed up. Again, Trump has not hesitated to make tariff threats against Europe as the imbalance persists. If this situation happens, after imposing the tariffs, the consequences on both sides will be significant.

US officials argue EU policies effectively amount to censorship and an assault on free speech. For example, the commissioner of the US Federal Communications Commission (FTC), Brendan Carr, has criticised the DMA and DSA openly and directly, describing them as a threat to democracy. He expressed that Europe’s continuation on this path will have consequences beyond Silicon Valley, and that they undermine American values of free expression.

The way forward is not to minimise and change how the big tech companies work through central planning in Brussels. Punitive regulation is not the way forward. Instead of treating big tech companies as enemies, Brussels should cooperate with them to ensure respect for innovation and trade. Pursuing an antagonistic approach will harm the economy and collaboration with Washington more broadly will come into question.

The timing is awful for Europe to follow this kind of path, due to increasing global competition and economic stagnation. The EU will remain behind and push away the companies which are the main catalysts of technological progress. The EU needs to take a step back and reassess its antitrust laws before the damage comes along and causes long-term repercussions. The path of censuring big tech companies will lead to a weak digital economy and lack of reputation as the clear threat from the US comes into the picture. If Europe truly wants to be a big player in the digital area, it should embrace a balanced and friendly approach, instead of pushing away.

While the European Commission pushes changes to search engines, is it improving competition or simply making it harder for users to find what they need? By disrupting established search algorithms, could Brussels be undermining the very economic players it claims to protect? It was still too early to talk about the long-term outcomes of these regulatory changes. Now, it is not. As the effects begin to unfold, it is clear the unintended consequences are mounting, leaving businesses and consumers to deal with the fallout.