Senior US diplomat calls EU policies bad for trans-Atlantic partnership
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The X fine, announced on Dec 5, is the first significant enforcement action under the EU's Digital Services Act.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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WASHINGTON - A US$140 million (S$181 million) fine on tech tycoon Elon Musk's social media platform underscores how Europeans undermine US policies even while demanding that the United States provide military protection, one of the top American diplomats wrote on Dec 6.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau joined Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other American officials in criticising the European Union's fine on Musk-owned X as censorship. But Mr Landau went further than Mr Rubio by invoking broader ideological and strategic concerns.
Mr Landau posted on X that the EU’s differences with the Trump administration on many issues undermine the idea of a partnership with the US despite the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The EU’s regulatory stance could hurt shared Western security and values, Mr Landau wrote.
“When these countries wear their NATO hats, they insist that transatlantic cooperation is the cornerstone of our mutual security,” Mr Landau posted. “But when these countries wear their EU hats, they pursue all sorts of agendas that are often utterly adverse to US interests and security... This inconsistency cannot continue.”
The X fine, announced on Dec 5, is the first significant enforcement action under the EU's Digital Services Act. European regulators said they cited X for a deceptive blue-check verification system, inadequate transparency in advertising records, and refusal to grant researchers access to public data.
The criticism from Mr Landau, along with earlier objections by Mr Rubio, US Vice-President J.D. Vance and Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr, reflects Washington's concerns over the impact of European digital regulations on American companies.
Mr Rubio and Mr Carr said the fine demonstrated bias against US-based technology firms, with Mr Rubio calling it an attack on the American people by foreign governments and an act of censorship against Americans online.
Adding to the furore, Mr Musk, once a close ally of President Donald Trump before a public falling out,
EU officials have said they are protecting users from deception, scams and misinformation, and said X’s status as a US company had nothing to do with the decision to levy a fine.
The tensions are surfacing as the Trump administration signals dramatic shifts in US-Europe relations within the NATO as it seeks to maintain unity amid broader geopolitical challenges.
While the Trump administration has pushed for increased European defence spending, its approach has been marked by mixed signals towards NATO, ranging from criticism of burden sharing to rare moments of praise for allied initiatives.
Mr Landau, the No. 2 US diplomat, had previously questioned the need for NATO in a June post on X, which he later deleted. REUTERS
