EU digital regulation doesn’t unfairly target US companies and is designed to protect the user experience of future generations, according to the bloc’s competition boss. Teresa Ribera underlined the need for "sincere engagement" from tech companies and not a "kind of permanent circumvention."
EU digital regulation doesn’t unfairly target US companies and is designed to protect the user experience of future generations, according to the bloc’s competition boss. “The Digital Markets Act … is nothing related to trade, is nothing related to non-tariff barriers, is nothing related to any political intention,” Teresa Ribera told a conference Friday.*
Ribera is pushing back against claims voiced by the US government and fanned by some of the tech giants. US officials have threatened retaliation against the EU and European companies if the bloc’s regulator sanctions US tech companies.
The DMA imposes a series of duties and prohibitions on certain designated tech “gatekeepers,” including Apple, Google, Amazon and Meta.
Ribera celebrated the DMA for enabling speedy and nuanced solutions.
“Having the opportunity to engage in a regulatory dialogue, early conversation on how we can facilitate compliance … we want this happening in a healthy manner,” said Ribera.
The EU’s competition boss is fresh off meeting with CEOs of Big Tech companies, including Google, Meta and Amazon, during her trip to the US. On Friday she pushed back at tech companies’ claims that the DMA was damaging the user experience of consumers in the European bloc (see here).
“We want future users to count on different options and to choose which is the experience that they consider the best,” she said.
She said that small companies have seen “benefits,” including greater “openness to interoperability” flowing from the DMA, which is also making data available to train AI algorithms.
Ribera also singled out "specifications" procedures under the DMA, which allow the regulator to set out in more detail how a company can comply.
The mechanism has already been used regarding access to Apple's iOS, and a procedure is underway involving Google.
She praised this option under the DMA but said it depends on "sincere engagement."
Ribera warned against entering into a "kind of permanent circumvention of the implementation and the enforcement" of the DMA tools.
"It is an honest try to ensure what is the main goal of the regulation, which is compliance, not fining people," she said.
Ribera noted that the DMA is under review this year and she is looking at enforcement experiences and possible changes.
Benoit Coeuré, the head of France’s competition authority, said he does not “know anyone in Europe who can explain” how the bloc’s different pieces of digital legislation, such as the DMA and the Data Act, interact and warned against adding further rules to the tech sector.
While the DMA is a direct tool to tackle large digital companies and open markets, the European Commission also has the power to impose interim injunctions under its traditional antitrust laws to halt suspect conduct.
This approach has been very rarely used but is currently under consideration in a probe into Meta Platforms' approach to rival AI chatbots.
Ribera flagged the importance of the tool, saying that it is well-suited to fast-moving digital markets.
*American Bar Association Antitrust Spring Meeting 2026. Washington, DC. March 25-27, 2026.
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