President Trump on Thursday called on the European Union to fight an antitrust battle against U.S. tech giants, saying the billions of dollars in fines they had levied against U.S. companies amounted to a tax on U.S. companies.
Trump made the comments during a virtual appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, during which he laid out his plans for a second term, with input from Bank of America's Brian Moynihan and Santander's Anabotín asked.
"They went to court cases with Apple and they reportedly won a case, which most people thought was not much of a case, and they won $15 billion or $16 billion from Apple. They won billions from Google. . I think they're after Facebook for billions of dollars," Trump said of the group's regulators.
"These are American companies, whether you like them or not, they are American companies and they shouldn't be doing this. As far as I'm concerned, it's a form of taxation," he added.
The EU has been aggressively addressing the power of U.S. technology companies for years. Most recently, the group fined Apple (AAPL) €13 billion for deducting taxes owed to Ireland. The charge hit Apple's bottom line in the fourth quarter, cutting its earnings per share from $1.64 to $0.97.
In March 2024, the EU fined the company $2 billion as part of its long-running battle with Spotify for allegedly "abusing its dominant position in the market."
Google (GOOG, GOOGL) lost a legal battle with the European Union in September, forcing the company to pay $2.7 billion to disadvantage European services using its price comparison tool. Google also continues to fight a 2011 antitrust case over its Android operating system, which the EU said the company used to "impose unlawful restrictions on Android device manufacturers and mobile network operators to solidify its dominance in general internet searches." dominant position.”
In November, the EU fined Facebook 797 million euros for violating antitrust rules through its Facebook Marketplace service. The group was also fined $1.3 billion in 2023 over claims it violated the region's data protection rules.
Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) haven't escaped EU attractions either. The EU's collection threatens Amazon with $47 billion in antitrust fines, forcing the company to change its business practices in the European Union. The watchdog recently issued a statement of objections to Microsoft for tying its Teams software to Office 365 and the Microsoft 365 productivity suite.
The EU isn't the only government agency with problems for U.S. tech companies. The U.S. is also battling Big Tech in court over dozens of alleged antitrust violations.
After winning a landmark antitrust case against Google's search business in August, the Justice Department said in November it wanted to undermine the technology giant. Google appealed the decision.
The Justice Department also filed an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, claiming it acted as an illegal monopoly that made it difficult for customers to switch from iPhones to competing devices and imposed restrictions on app developers and app distribution.
The FTC also filed antitrust lawsuits against Amazon and Yuan. In the Amazon lawsuit, the FTC accused the e-commerce retailer of using its vast power to disadvantage other retailers through anti-bill measures.
It further claims that Amazon requires sellers to use its fulfillment services to access the company's main services, making it more expensive for these sellers to offer goods on other platforms.
In the Meta case, which is set to go to trial in 2025, the FTC alleged that social media companies engaged in illegal "buy-or-die" schemes to purchase or suppress competing social platforms. FTC calls on Meta to ease its acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp.
The FTC originally brought its case against Yuan under the Trump administration, but Lina Khan, the FTC chairwoman under the Biden administration, filed it after the initial dismissal.
Big Tech CEOs are trying to get comfortable with Trump ahead of the 2024 election, with meta-CEO Mark Zuckerberg praising the then-candidate's response to an assassination attempt in July 2024. Trump has previously threatened to jail Zuckerberg over his book.
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also supports Trump, with Amazon donating $1 million to his inauguration. Bezos and Trump had a bitter relationship during Trump's first term, with Trump criticizing Bezos for his reporting on The Washington Post. Bezos owns the position.
Before the election, Bezos blocked the Post's editorial board from endorsing Trump's rival, former Vice President Kamala Harris, for president.
Google and Microsoft also donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, as did Apple CEO Tim Cook and Openai CEO Sam Altman.
Altman, Bezos, Cook, Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai attended Trump's inauguration on Monday, sitting behind Trump's lectern while other Republican leaders watched the proceedings from the overflow area.
With big tech efforts gaining support from Trump, who has publicly defended them from EU antitrust matters, both companies are likely to enjoy a more permissive regulatory environment over the next four years.
Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on X @AlexiskWeed.
Email Daniel Howley at dhowley@yahoofinance.com. Follow him on X @Danielhowley.
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