EU tech chief to 'fight back’ against Trump’s allegations, Commission says

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen “will fight back” against unfounded claims regarding EU tech legislation, a spokesperson for the European Commission has said in response to questions raised about her absence in the wake of US threats to impose tariffs on countries that implement legislation targeting tech companies.

“She is the new tech chief – and she will fight back against all unfounded claims, she has done so, she will continue to do it. We will protect our sovereign right,” spokesperson Thomas Regnier told journalists on Thursday. 

The threats made earlier this week by US President Donald Trump – after an EU-US trade deal was reached on 21 August – caught the EU off guard, but the EU executive responded on Tuesday by defending its right to pass legislation free from external pressure.

In May Virkkunen travelled to the US to explain the EU’s technology legislation after the bloc received a lot of criticism from the other side of the Atlantic.  

She has said in the past months that EU tech legislation – including the DSA and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) – is fair and not a censorship tool.

However, US criticism has been ongoing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning earlier this month that the EU was pursuing "undue" restrictions on freedom of expression in its efforts to combat hate speech and disinformation.

In response to this week’s threats by Trump, EU lawmaker Alexandra Geese (Germany/Greens-EFA) said in a post on Linkedin that “Europe must also urgently build its own digital infrastructure. And it would be very much appreciated if the Executive Vice-President for Technological Sovereignty of the European Commission could fight for European democracy,” she added.

“There‘s an endless list of things to do to keep Europe and the world free. Start doing it!” Geese said. 

These comments were echoed by Stéphanie Yon-Courtin (France/Renew). “I too am shocked [ …] more by the lack of pugnacity in the European Commission's response than by Trump's attitude.”

Thierry Breton to join US hearing

It’s not the first time that lawmakers criticised Virkkunen’s performance, since she took up the job last December, after being a member of the European Parliament from 2014 to 2024.

In January, a Parliament debate was called after MEPs asked her to act on US tech companies, after Elon Musk, CEO of US messaging app X, intervened in the German election by interviewing the leader of the far-right Alternative for Germany party on his platform.

Her predecessor, France’s Thierry Breton, was caught up in several online spats with Musk for saying that the US tech giant should follow EU rules.

Breton, who resigned as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen was preparing to announce the portfolios for the Commissioners for her second term in September, has been invited by the US House of Judiciary Committee to attend a hearing on "Europe's threat to American speech and innovation" next Wednesday. 

Regnier said that “former commissioners do not represent the EU. They are required to not disclose information, and they cannot give statements without prior authorisation.”

He added that the Commission has not been in touch with Breton about the hearing.