Key Takeaways
- The EU is intensifying its challenge to big tech companies like Google, Meta, Apple, and Elon Musk’s X in 2026
- The European Commission is focusing on enforcing an expansive digital rule book, including the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act
- The EU faces political challenges, including demands from the US administration to change its tech rules and threats of tariffs in retaliation
- The EU is probing new areas of potential enforcement, including investigations into Meta’s WhatsApp and Google’s use of online content for AI models
- The EU’s executive arm will have to decide how much further to push its action against Google and other big tech companies
Introduction to the EU’s Digital Rule Book
The European Union is set to intensify its challenge to big tech companies like Google, Meta, Apple, and Elon Musk’s X in 2026. According to Brussels officials and policymakers, the European Commission is switching its focus to enforcing an expansive digital rule book after years of negotiating landmark legislation to take on the world’s biggest technology groups. This effort will face political challenges over the coming year, including demands from the US administration to change its tech rules and threats of tariffs in retaliation. The EU’s competition chief, Teresa Ribera, has stated that the EU will not undo its regulation just because the US does not like it.
The EU’s Digital Markets Act and Digital Services Act
The EU’s approach requires sticking with its existing laws, including the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DMA aims to open powerful "online gatekeepers" to rivals, while the DSA forces internet companies to better police illegal content. Officials working on the implementation of this legislation have stated that the focus has always been on behind-the-scenes work to ensure compliance over headline-grabbing sanctions. After being hit by fines in the spring, both Apple and Meta have made changes to their business models to accommodate the EU’s concerns. The EU has begun probing new areas of potential enforcement, including investigations into Meta’s WhatsApp and Google’s use of online content for AI models.
Investigations and Enforcement
Regulators have launched investigations to ensure enough competition in the cloud-computing sector. Antitrust scholar Fiona Scott Morton has stated that when it comes to enforcing its digital rules, there is pay-off to moving forward and achieving outcomes that benefit the European people and business users. However, some tech cases are likely to draw widespread attention, including the EU’s executive arm deciding how much further to push its action against Google over allegedly favoring its own services and products in search results. The EU’s executive arm will also have to decide whether to issue big fines against Google’s parent company, Alphabet.
Geopolitical Considerations
The EU’s efforts to enforce its digital rules have been made more challenging by the aggressive stance taken by the US administration. The US has demanded changes to the EU’s tech rules and threatened to impose tariffs in retaliation. The EU faces a difficult balancing act, as it wants to enforce its digital rules without triggering a transatlantic trade war or provoking the US president into siding with Russia on Ukraine. Geopolitical considerations have emboldened big tech companies to fight back with a fierce lobbying effort in Europe and the US. Google has stated that the EU’s investigation into its AI models "risks stifling innovation in a market that is more competitive than ever".
EU Lawmakers and Civil Society
European lawmakers and civil society are pushing Brussels to step up work on more sensitive investigations, such as into X’s attempts to counter the spread of illegal content and TikTok’s potential role in electoral interference. Lawyers and officials also argue that the EU could go much further to tackle competition in artificial intelligence. Antitrust lawyer Damien Geradin has stated that the enforcement of EU digital regulations has been made more challenging by the aggressive stance taken by the US administration. The EU’s current enforcement of digital rules has been criticized as "too little, too late" by European lawmaker Alexandra Geese, who has stated that there is an attack on democracy going on, led by tech oligarchs on social media, and the EU is not really defending itself.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the EU is set to intensify its challenge to big tech companies in 2026, with a focus on enforcing its digital rule book. The EU faces political challenges, including demands from the US administration to change its tech rules and threats of tariffs in retaliation. The EU will have to decide how much further to push its action against Google and other big tech companies, while also tackling more sensitive investigations and enforcing its digital rules. The EU’s efforts to enforce its digital rules will have significant implications for the future of the tech industry and the EU’s relationship with the US.