By Philip Blenkinsop and Supantha Mukherjee
BRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – The European Commission said on Tuesday it was evaluating its cases against Apple (NASDAQ: ), Alphabet (NASDAQ: ), X and Meta (NASDAQ: ), stressing that President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House had not affected on its commitment to enforcing its laws.
The European Union has been at the forefront of an investigation into major US technology companies for potential violations of laws designed to prevent them from using their influence to gain an unfair advantage over competitors.
Trump, who will begin his second term as the 47th president of the United States on Monday, has been critical of various European policies, and his ally Elon Musk has repeatedly clashed with regulators and politicians on the continent.
The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that Brussels is reassessing its investigations into Big Tech in a review that could lead it to scale back or change the scope of the probes as US groups urge Trump to intervene.
Henna Virkkunen, the commissioner in charge of EU policy, told Reuters by email that the EU’s investigations were continuing as normal and that no decision had been made to suspend them.
A spokesman for the commission told reporters it is evaluating, not revising, its cases, which are unrelated to Trump’s arrival, and reiterated its commitment to regulating Big Tech.
“What we have are upcoming meetings to assess the maturity of the cases, to assess the allocation of resources and the general readiness of the investigation,” the spokesman told the EU’s executive body’s daily briefing.
US tech giants have complained that regulation is stifling innovation and have balked at hefty antitrust fines imposed by Brussels.
Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg last week urged Trump to stop the EU from punishing US tech companies, and Trump ally Elon Musk has repeatedly clashed with EU regulators.
Speaking to popular podcaster Joe Rogan, Zuckerberg said the European Commission’s enforcement of competition rules is “almost like a tariff” on US tech companies.
The latest EU laws – the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which imposes antitrust obligations, the Digital Services Act (DSA), which covers the moderation of online content, and the EU AI Act – have drawn the most criticism from US tech leaders.
Musk, for example, came under scrutiny earlier this month when he hosted Alice Weidel, the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, to discuss his Platform X.
There was also a changing of the guard in Brussels with Henna Virkkunen taking over the role of head of EU industry from Thierry Breton.
Breton has been at loggerheads with Musk and others over the implementation of EU law.
“We have been very clear that regardless of what administration is in place in third countries, it will not affect our enforcement work,” the spokesman said.
However, a person familiar with the European Commission’s processes said implementation of the law has been put on hold until the government understands Trump’s plan.
Commission investigations often last for years. Last November, it fined Meta nearly 800 million euros ($821.36 million) for abuse after opening an investigation in 2021.
The investigation against X, which began in 2023, is still open.
The ongoing cases against Apple, Alphabet, Meta and X have not yet reached the point where decisions could be made, according to the spokesperson.
Breton said on Tuesday that the Commission should give up trying to weaken its rules.
“We can clearly see that there is a desire to attack the regulations,” he told Reuters. “The regulation is in no way censorship, contrary to what its opponents keep claiming.”
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