Trump Criticizes EU Antitrust Actions Against American Tech Giants

President Trump has denounced the European Union's antitrust battles with American technology companies, claiming that the billions of dollars in fines levied against them constitute a "tax" on U.S. corporations.

Trump made these remarks during a virtual address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where he outlined plans for his second term and responded to questions from executives like Bank of America's Brian Moynihan and Santander's Ana Botín.

"They took court cases with Apple, supposedly won a case that most people don't think was much of a case, they won $15 billion or $16 billion from Apple. They won billions from Google. I think they're after Facebook for billions and billions," Trump stated about the EU's regulators.

"These are American companies, whether you like them or not, they are American companies, and they shouldn't be doing that. As far as I'm concerned, it's a form of taxation," he added.

The EU has been aggressively pursuing the power of American tech companies for years. Recently, the bloc fined Apple €13 billion for back taxes owed to Ireland, impacting Apple's Q4 earnings per share from $1.64 to $0.97. In March 2024, the EU imposed a $2 billion fine on Apple as part of the company's dispute with Spotify, alleging the misuse of its dominant position in music streaming app distribution.

Google has also faced legal challenges from the EU. In September, the company was ordered to pay $2.7 billion for using its price comparison tool to the detriment of European services. Google is also engaged in an ongoing antitrust case over its Android operating system, which the EU claims restricts Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to maintain its dominance in online search.

Meta was fined €797 million by the EU in November for antitrust violations through its Facebook Marketplace. The bloc also imposed a $1.3 billion fine in 2023 for data protection breaches.

Amazon and Microsoft have not been immune to EU scrutiny. The European economies threatened Amazon with antitrust fines of $47 billion, leading to changes in its business practices within the EU. The regulator recently issued objections to Microsoft's decision to tie its Teams software to its Office 365 and Microsoft 365 suites.

America's Tech Battles

The EU is not the only government entity taking issue with US tech firms. The US is also engaging in legal battles with Big Tech over numerous alleged antitrust violations.

The Department of Justice won a landmark antitrust case against Google's search business in August and subsequently signaled its intent to break up the tech giant. Google is appealing the decision. The DOJ has also filed an antitrust suit against Apple, alleging an illegal monopoly by hindering customer device switching and placing restrictions on app developers and distribution.

The Federal Trade Commission has filed antitrust lawsuits against Amazon and Meta. In the Amazon case, the FTC alleges the e-commerce retailer uses its power to disadvantage other retailers through anti-discounting measures. It also claims Amazon requires sellers to use its fulfillment service for Prime access, increasing the cost of offering goods on other platforms.

The Meta case, scheduled for trial in 2025, alleges the social media company ran an illegal "buy-or-bury" scheme to acquire or eliminate competing platforms. The FTC seeks to unwind its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.

Trump's Tech Turnaround

Leading up to the 2024 election, Big Tech CEOs sought to align themselves with Trump, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg praising his response to an assassination attempt in July 2024. Trump had previously threatened Zuckerberg with imprisonment in his book.

Amazon founder Jeff Bezos has also publicly supported Trump, and the company contributed $1 million to his inauguration campaign. Despite conflicts during Trump's first term, Bezos prevented the Washington Post's editorial board from endorsing Trump's opponent, former Vice President Kamala Harris.

Google and Microsoft also donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, along with Apple CEO Tim Cook and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Altman, Bezos, Cook, Zuckerberg, and Pichai attended Trump's inauguration, seated near the lectern.

With Big Tech attempting to gain favor with Trump and the president defending them against EU antitrust concerns, the possibility of a more lenient regulatory environment for the industry exists during the next four years.