Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Sep 16, 2025

Europe is coming for Big Tech. Biden's victory won't change that

Europe is coming for Big Tech. Biden's victory won't change that

Europe has turned itself into the cop on the Big Tech beat, repeatedly enforcing its rules and hitting the industry's top American companies with huge fines. That's not going to change when Joe Biden is sworn in as US president.

Biden has made clear that he wants to reset the US relationship with top allies, especially those across the Atlantic. But on complex questions like how global tech firms should be taxed, deep disagreements will remain, even under a new US administration. Meanwhile, Europe's mission to crack down on misbehaving internet companies is unlikely to change.

This week, three days after European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Biden on his win, the European Union unveiled formal antitrust charges against Amazon (AMZN) for abusing its dominance in online shopping, while opening a second investigation into the company's business practices.

"[The] announcement on Amazon shows the desire to keep the antitrust pressure on US tech," said Emre Peker, a director in the Europe practice of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group.

Digital tax dust-up


On digital taxes, Biden will have a chance to press reset from the early days of his presidency. Yet even then, it's not clear that the United States and countries in Europe can come to terms. Talks brokered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris on a global digital tax regime have so far failed to produce an agreement.

"I would find it pretty interesting if all [of a] sudden the US government said, 'Yeah, you can have some of our tax base,'" said Elke Asen, policy analyst at the Tax Foundation's Center for Global Tax Policy.

The bitter debate over how firms like Google (GOOGL) and Facebook (FB) should be taxed predates both President-elect Biden and President Donald Trump.

Historically, companies have only been required to pay taxes on income in the country where they book their profits. But European countries argue they should also be able to collect so-called digital services taxes, given that these companies make money off sales in the region.

So far, the OECD negotiations have kept a lid on tensions. But a confrontation between France and the United States could be just weeks away.

France delayed collection of its 3% tax on the revenues of tech companies while talks at the OECD were taking place. But fed up with the lack of progress, it intends to begin collections shortly. If it does, the Trump administration could respond by slapping tariffs on $1.3 billion in French goods, including handbags and cosmetics, as soon as Jan. 6.

While the French government is eager to get off on the right foot with Biden, it's not clear they're willing to agree to another delay. The OECD now aims to hammer out a new agreement on taxes by mid-2021.

"Either one accepts an extension again for months, maybe years, or one considers that fair taxes on digital activities are urgent and in this case Europe sets the example," French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said last month, according to Reuters.

Biden's expressed commitment to a more multilateral approach to international diplomacy, instead of weaponizing tariffs, could provide fresh momentum to the OECD discussions. But Democrats have not endorsed digital services taxes in the past — and experts warn Biden may not prove any more amenable.

"The Biden administration would be potentially as concerned about taxes that seem to be targeted at US companies as the Trump administration is," said Brian Jenn, a former US Treasury official who served as co-chair of the OECD's Task Force on the Digital Economy from 2017 to 2019.

Here come the regulators


It's not the only front on which Europe is trying to hold the biggest American tech companies to account.

The European Union has emerged as a key battleground for tech because of its tough rules on data protection, hate speech and competition. And under Margrethe Vestager, now serving a second term as the European Commission's top antitrust official, the bloc has made clear that it's willing to confront the likes of Google and Amazon.

The European Union's claim that Amazon (AMZN) has breached antitrust rules exposes the company to potential fines of up to 10% of its annual global sales. That implies a maximum penalty of around $37 billion, based on the company's forecasts for revenue this year.

Because Europe doesn't have tech companies that can compete with Silicon Valley's big names or China's tech champions, the region's response is to try to exert influence through regulation, Eurasia Group's Peker said. The thinking: Europe is a huge consumer market, so it should have a hand in setting online norms.

"Europe sees an opening," Peker said. In his view, a change in administration in the United States won't alter the calculus.

On issues like antitrust, there's a consensus in Europe and the United States that more should be done to rein in Big Tech.

Both Republicans and Democrats in the United States are more comfortable with the possibility of curbing Silicon Valley's power than they were just a few years ago. House Democrats recently published a congressional investigation that found Amazon, Apple (AAPL), Google and Facebook hold "monopoly power" in key business segments, while the Department of Justice last month accused Google of stifling competition to maintain its powerful position in the marketplace for online search.

But regulators in Europe — which have fined Google billions of dollars for antitrust violations since 2017 — have a head start. And they're inclined to keep going, no matter who's in the White House.

Europe has taken the lead in areas such as disinformation, with tougher hate speech laws in countries like Germany, as well as on protecting privacy, following the rollout its General Data Protection Regulation in 2018. The European Union is also looking to create rules around the deployment of artificial intelligence. The Commission is expected to unveil its legislative proposal early next year.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
The New Life of Novak Djokovic
The German Owner of Politico Mathias Döpfner Eyes Further U.S. Media Expansion After Axel Springer Restructuring
Suspect Arrested: Utah Man in Custody for Charlie Kirk’s Fatal Shooting
In a politically motivated trial: Bolsonaro Sentenced to 27 Years for Plotting Coup After 2022 Defeat
German police raid AfD lawmaker’s offices in inquiry over Chinese payments
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
×