The consensus around the need to regulate digital monopolies has never been stronger on both sides of the Atlantic.
Under the second Trump administration, transatlantic tensions over digital regulation, including antitrust, will heighten, as Big Tech is caught in an intensifying trade war, according to GlobalData.
GlobalData’s latest Strategic Intelligence report “Antitrust”, reveals that the European Commission is enforcing the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and is expected to wrap up its investigations of Google, Meta and Apple by 2026.
The US government has stepped up efforts to tackle digital monopolies through lawsuits. The Department of Justice is considering breaking up Google, which would represent the most decisive intervention to date against one of the world’s most powerful tech companies.
So far only Apple and Meta have been fined for a DMA infringement, while all lawsuits opened against Big Tech in the US are ongoing.
Laura Petrone, principal analyst in the Strategic Intelligence team at GlobalData, comments: “US President Donald Trump views the DMA as ‘overseas extortion’ of US companies, but Brussels is determined to go ahead with its antitrust investigations and has said that it will make no concessions on its digital rules in trade negotiations with the US.
“There will likely be an acceleration in DMA enforcement as the EU uses the threat of fines and sanctions as bargain chips in tariff negotiations with Washington. The result could be a damaging tit-for-tat trade war in the tech industry.”
While the Trump administration is expected to be more friendly to consolidation across different sectors, the tech industry will likely be the exception, as both recently appointed heads of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DoJ) have signaled their interest in scrutinising Big Tech over antitrust.
However, mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and partnerships perceived to be in the national interest, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), will likely receive a green light from US regulators.
According to GlobalData’s regulatory risk scorecard, Big Tech will continue to be the target of intense antitrust scrutiny, and most Big Tech companies could be caught in the crossfire of trade wars ignited by Trump’s tariffs.
Samsung Electronics has the lowest regulatory risk among Big Tech companies, while Meta, Alphabet and Amazon have the highest. US and Chinese Big Tech companies will face intense regulatory scrutiny due to their dominant position in most digital markets.