Brussels campaigners call on Ursula von der Leyen to ‘fight for the EU, not Trump’s tech bros’

Balanced Economy Project is supporting campaigners in Brussels today deploying billboards and hundreds of posters across the city urging EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to fight for Europe’s digital laws and against pressure from US President Donald Trump and the power of Big Tech.  

The action has been organised by People vs Big Tech, WeMove Europe and European Digital Rights in order to coincide with the release of the Commission’s Digital Omnibus, an effort by European lawmakers to reset Europe’s digital rulebook and simplify the rules governing technology and, increasingly, artificial intelligence.  

The package is being sold as a move that will reduce regulatory burdens in the bloc and increase competitiveness within the European economy, however, in reality it risks being the latest in a growing line of examples where Europe has capitulated under the political and private interests of powerful US companies.  

“It’s extraordinary that at the very moment France and Germany are hosting a summit on European digital sovereignty, Ursula von der Leyen is bowing to pressure from Trump and Big Tech in Brussels, announcing the biggest rollback of EU protections we’ve ever seen” said Ava Lee, Executive Director of People vs Big Tech.  

Our campaigning has come just days after Google revealed a proposal to modestly tweak its products in place of offering any substantive and structural change to its business model. This proposal came following the Commission’s September ruling that Google had illegally abused its monopoly power.  

At the time, concerns regarding Europe’s resolve grew when the Commission’s highly anticipated Google Adtech decision was temporarily put on hold at the eleventh hour after lobbying from Washington DC.  

The case — which strikes at the heart of Google’s abuse of its powerful online ad services — was destined to be EU competition chief Teresa Ribera’s first major competition victory but instead became a cause for concern among those worried about Europe’s independence from US private interests.  

“Europe’s landmark digital and antitrust laws are meant to protect our democracy, our rights, and our economy. If Europe genuinely wants to govern itself, it has to start enforcing its own laws, beginning with breaking up Google’s advertising monopoly, not gutting digital protections under the guise of simplification,” added Lee.  

Just last month, competition chief Ribera stood in Lisbon and pledged to modernise the way in which Europe combats monopoly power, and offered a welcome counterweight to a swath of troubling developments that had emerged out of Europe in recent months.  

The Balanced Economy Project joins People vs Big Tech, WeMove Europe and European Digital Rights in calling for the Commission to come to a swift decision and break up Google’s advertising business. We repeat our longstanding view that only structural remedies to break up big tech will result in successfully tackling monopolisation in the sector.