LISBON — Ursula von der Leyen’s European Commission should continue to enforce its digital rules with an iron fist despite the outcry from U.S. officials and big tech moguls, co-chair of the Greens in the European Parliament Bas Eickhout told POLITICO. As Green politicians from across Europe gather in the Portuguese capital for their annual congress, U.S. top officials are blasting the EU for imposing a penalty on social media platform X for breaching its transparency obligations under the EU’s Digital Services Act, the bloc’s content moderation rule book. “They should just implement the law, which means they need to be tougher,” Eickhout told POLITICO on the sidelines of the event. He argued that the fine of €120 million is “nothing” for billionaire Elon Musk and that the EU executive should go further. The Commission needs to “make clear that we should be proud of our policies … we are the only ones fighting American Big Tech,” he said, adding that tech companies are “killing freedom of speech in Europe.” The Greens have in the past denounced Meta and X over their content moderation policies, arguing these platforms amplify “disinformation” and “extremism” and interfere in European electoral processes. Meta and X did not reply to a request for comment by the time of publication. Meta has “introduced changes to our content reporting options, appeals process and data access tools since the DSA came into force and are confident that these solutions match what is required under the law in the EU,” a Meta spokesperson said at the end of October. Tech mogul Musk said his response to the penalty would target the EU officials who imposed it. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the fine is “an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments,” and accused the move of “censorship.” “It’s not good when our former allies in Washington are now working hand in glove with Big Tech,” blasted European Green Party chair Ciarán Cuffe at the opening of the congress in Lisbon. Eickhout, whose party GreenLeft-Labor alliance is in negotiations to enter government in the Netherlands, said “we should pick on this battle and stand strong.” The Commission’s decision to fine X under the EU’s Digital Services Act is over transparency concerns. The Commission said the design of X’s blue checkmark is “deceptive,” after it was changed from user verification into a paid feature. The EU’s executive also said X’s advertising library lacks transparency and that it fails to provide access to public data for researchers as required by the law.  Eickhout lamented that European governments are slow in condemning the U.S. moves against the EU, and argued that with its recent national security strategy, the Americans have made clear their objective is to divide Europe from within by fueling far-right parties. “Some of the leaders like [French President Emmanuel] Macron are still desperately trying to say that that the United States are our ally,” Eickhout said. “I want to see urgency on how Europe is going to take its own path and not rely on the U.S. anymore, because it’s clear we cannot.”

LONDON — Britain’s antitrust watchdog could force new rules on Apple’s and Google’s mobile platforms to open up competition. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published a draft decision Wednesday to designate Google and Apple as having “strategic market status” in mobile under its new digital markets powers. That means it believes the companies have “substantial and entrenched” market power through their app stores, mobile browsers, browser engines and operating systems. If the designation is confirmed later this year then new rules called Conduct Requirements can be placed on Apple and Google. Apple has warned the CMA to avoid any interventions which it claims could impact its customers’ privacy and security. It believes similar moves by the European Commission to enforce interoperability have undermined security and it is appealing a €500 million fine for failure to comply with the EU’s Digital Markets Act. An Apple spokesperson said: “We’re concerned the rules the U.K. is now considering would undermine the privacy and security protections that our users have come to expect, hamper our ability to innovate, and force us to give away our technology for free to foreign competitors. We will continue to engage with the regulator to make sure they fully understand these risks.” Oliver Bethell, director of competition at Google, described the CMA decision as “disappointing and unwarranted.” “Android is open source and Chrome is built on our browser engine Blink, which is also open source. Together with Play, these offerings enable great choice, security and innovation for users,” he said, adding: “We estimate that Android has saved developers over one million days they would otherwise spend adapting to different operating models for each smartphone — the equivalent of £300 million in reduced costs.” The CMA argues the two companies have a duopoly on mobile platforms in the U.K. and expressed concerns about: commissions charged on in-app purchases, processes around app reviews and rankings, and the firms’ favoring their own services. CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “Our investigation so far has identified opportunities for more innovation and choice. “The targeted and proportionate actions we have set out today would enable U.K. app developers to remain at the forefront of global innovation while ensuring U.K. consumers receive a world-class experience. Time is of the essence: as competition agencies and courts globally take action in these markets, it’s essential the U.K. doesn’t fall behind.” The consultations on the companies’ respective designations close on Aug. 20. The CMA has until Oct. 22 to make a final decision. The U.K. investigation into Apple and Google is the CMA’s second probe under its digital markets powers which came into force in January.