The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr is allegedly ready to step in to defend US big tech firms against EU watchdogs. Speaking at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona, the FCC chairman said Europe's regulations against US firms are "excessive" and "incompatible" with American values.
European regulators, whether in the EU or the UK, have significantly tightened their grip on US big tech firms, holding them accountable for their alleged monopolistic policies and abuse of competition. This has led to substantial changes, such as Apple's iOS ecosystem now allowing app downloads from third-party stores, a practice previously prohibited on iPhones.
The European lawmakers have also enacted the Digital Services Act, a set of guidelines aimed at addressing illegal content and disinformation. However, Brendan Carr has raised a significant concern. He believes that these laws, particularly since the start of the Covid pandemic, are suppressing free speech in the EU.
"There is some concern that I have with respect to the approach that Europe has taken with the DSA in particular," Carr said. "There's a risk that that regulatory regime imposes excessive rules with respect to free speech."
The FCC chair added, "We're returning to our First Amendment roots, where we're returning to our free speech tradition."
"From President [Donald] Trump to me, across the government, we are encouraging our technology companies to stop the censorship we saw the last couple of years."
It remains to be seen how the US administration will choose to defend Big Tech against the numerous lawsuits in the EU. However, the move did not come as a surprise as Bloomberg already reported that defending US tech companies in the EU has been one of Apple's demands from the Trump administration in return for its $500 billion investment in the US.
Source: CNBC
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