EU Seeks US Help in Policing ‘Dominant Digital Platforms’

European Union lawmakers are reportedly countering accusations that they are treating tech giants in the United States unfairly.

EU lawmakers wrote to U.S. officials saying claims that the EU is using its digital competition laws to unfairly punish American companies are unfounded, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday (March 6).

“Given the importance of our shared values in promoting fair competition and innovation, it is essential that we align our efforts to address the challenges posed by dominant digital platforms,” the lawmakers’ letter said, per the report.

It was signed by nine members of the European Parliament and sent to Attorney General Pam Bondi and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, the report said.

The letter said the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) — the basis for investigations into Apple, Google and Meta — does not only target American companies, per the report. For example, the lawmakers said Dutch Booking.com and China’s TikTok have also been examined under the act.

The lawmakers also argued that many U.S. companies hope to benefit from the regulations and have campaigned for the EU to enforce the DMA, according to the report.

For example, streaming companies like Netflix, “currently burdened by Apple’s and Google’s high app store fees, would also benefit from a fairer competitive landscape under the DMA,” EU lawmakers said, per the report, adding that thousands of American startups would see new revenues from the EU if tech giants would obey the law.

The letter came a little more than a week after a similar correspondence from U.S. lawmakers to European regulators regarding the DMA. Reps. Jim Jordan of Ohio and Scott Fitzgerald of Wisconsin said the DMA places unfair burdens on U.S. companies and favors European tech firms. The letter also criticized the 10% fines on global yearly revenues companies are subject to under the DMA.

“These severe fines appear to have two goals: to compel businesses to follow European standards worldwide and as a European tax on American companies,” the letter said.

A European Commission spokesperson told PYMNTS in response to the letter from Jordan and Fitzgerald: “The Digital Markets Act applies equally to all large digital actors operating in the EU single market, irrespective of their place of incorporation or of their controlling shareholders, to ensure a safe, fair and level-playing field in the EU.”

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