“In the coming months, there will be more decisions coming,” Virkkunen told reporters after a meeting of EU digital affairs ministers in Brussels.
“With most of the investigations, we already have published the preliminary findings, and after that, the next step is to encourage those online platforms to comply with our rules,” she said. If they don’t, a non-compliance decision — which could include a fine — would follow.
While European politicians expressed cautious praise for the X decision on Friday, the Trump administration reacted with fury.
“The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X. “The days of censoring Americans online are over.”
When asked by POLITICO to respond to the accusation that the EU is unfairly targeting American companies, Virkkunen said that of 10 platforms under formal investigation under the DSA, only three are U.S. companies.
French President Emmanuel Macron said last week he felt Brussels was “afraid” of tackling U.S. Big Tech and that an “American offensive” had cowed the European Commission.
In a press briefing earlier in the day, Virkkunen said that in the case of X, it had taken too long to go from preliminary findings to a final decision.
“I agree that it took a very long time, especially from the preliminary findings, because the preliminary findings on this topics [were] already published in summer 2024,” she said.
