Hena Virkkunen denies taking a soft approach to Big Tech when Trump returns.
A leading EU official has taken a lenient approach to Big Tech, citing a “very clear legal basis” for regulators and several ongoing investigations into the likes of the social media platform. X And Meta.
FT reported Earlier this week, the EU was reassessing the investigations. Apple, google And meta – a process that could eventually lead to the European Commission, the EU’s executive body, backtracking or changing the focus of their investigators.
However, speaking to CNBC on Thursday, Hena Virkkunen, the European Commission’s chief executive for technology sovereignty, pushed back.
“We have the Digital Services Act, which came into force a little over a year ago, and there are many formal procedures, for all the big platforms: meta platforms, Instagram, Facebook, as well as with X and Tik Tok,” said Virkkunen.
“We are continuing the work, so there are no new decisions. So we are doing the investigation (to see) if they respect our laws,” she said.
In the year The Digital Services Act, or DSA, which comes into full force in 2024, gives EU institutions the power to regulate Big Tech to prevent illegal and harmful activity online and curb misinformation.
Despite these new powers, there are growing questions about how the EU will enforce its rules, especially after President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
It remains to be seen what the EU will do, as some investigations have gone further than others, but it is clear that US tech companies will try to use the Trump administration to push back on EU rules. He told CNBC in the Economist Intelligence Unit.
It comes as the tech industry tries to appease Trump ahead of his second term as president. Tesla’s Elon Musk, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and Zuckerberg will attend Trump’s inauguration next week, according to NBC News.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg last week called on the incoming US president to look at the EU’s approach to big tech, saying the way the bloc enforces competition rules is “akin to tariffs”.
EU official Virkkunen is one of a new group of politicians who took office as EU executive members in December. Until now, the coalition has been considered a leader in technology oversight and has opened the door to several investigations into the behavior of big tech companies.
Asked if he was considering taking a lighter approach to the sector, Virkkunen said: “We (in Europe) have a very clear legal basis and regulatory rules, and of course we now fully implement those rules.”
Virkkunen did not say whether she was feeling pressured by Trump’s return to the White House. Instead, she said, “All companies, American, European or Chinese, must comply with EU regulations.”
Examining X
In December 2023, Musk was X. It hit the EU’s first investigation under the Digital Services Act. The European Commission is reviewing X’s breach of transparency obligations and its duty to prevent illegal content.
At the time, the agency said it was reviewing issues specifically related to risk management, content moderation, dark patterns, ad transparency, and data access for researchers.
Muck held a live chat with AfD leader Alice Weidel ahead of the German election – and there are questions about whether the European Commission will review this conversation as part of its investigation.
“This is not about Elon Musk. It’s about X,” Virkkunen said.
“X (a) is a very large online platform, they have to fulfill their responsibilities, and they have to evaluate and mitigate the risks, for example, those who post for electoral processes and civic discourse. But the (European) Commission. It is investigating X in this case, and the scope of the investigation It’s already huge,” she said. “We’re always on the lookout.”
