EU competition chief Teresa Ribera sees a world where international law is imperiled by the US doctrine of “might is right.” She is determined to keep power politics out of antitrust enforcement and apply the bloc's tech rules against US champions, including Apple and Google. Fresh claims that EU laws are discriminatory by a top US enforcer and tech executives will further complicate that goal.
Apple, Google and other Big Tech companies’ adherence to EU tech regulations is a test of whether the rule of law can withstand power politics. That’s how EU competition boss Teresa Ribera sees it, following a recent trip to Silicon Valley and Washington DC.That puts her at loggerheads with President Donald Trump's administration, after the US Federal Trade Commission's chairman and some tech executives doubled-down in recent days on their view that the European Commission is discriminating against US interests.
The world faces a choice between “international law and cooperation as the way to build common prosperity” and “the use of force,” Ribera said at an antitrust conference in Washington*.
She sees that tension in her own backyard as well. For her, the antitrust danger is embodied by the US tech tycoons, who argue that European rules are taxes and protectionism in disguise. The White House agrees with them.
Ribera’s pushback against that narrative was a running theme through her US tour. She styled herself as a neutral but steadfast protector of the EU’s democratically enacted rulebook.
“It is important to remain strong as enforcers against political intrusion,” she told the audience of lawyers, regulators and company executives last Friday. “It's an issue of democracy, credibility and institutions.”
She said she saw a “worrying trend” of more power concentrating in the hands of fewer companies, adding that basic human rights such as freedom of speech, transparency and civil rights were at risk from the “imposition of power.”
— Dante’s hell —
Days before Ribera's trip to the US, FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson criticized the EU’s digital gatekeeper rules for their “hostility toward American firms” and mistaken belief that big is necessarily bad.
“Misguided application of competition law can, in fact, make things worse for everyone,” he said in a speech at a competition law conference** in Hungary (see here).
Ferguson set out an unusually Manichaean vision of good versus evil in the economic world, where fraudsters and hucksters prowl and exploit the economy’s vulnerabilities.
In parts, he was aligned with Ribera in wanting to secure the benefits of antitrust enforcement, preserving “civic trust” and mutual respect.
Referencing Dante’s “Inferno,” he named the lowest circle of hell as reserved for “commercial fraudsters” lustful for power and wealth. But he also espoused a nationalistic vision for enforcement.
“Our businesses ought to prioritize our nation’s interests, identity, and culture. Before throwing their fellow citizens into the great mixing bowl of global consumer sentiment.”
Ferguson did not meet Ribera during her trip, and the two officials did not share a stage at any of the speaking events.
— EU will stand firm —
Ribera did meet the CEOs of Google, Amazon and Meta Platforms during her trip, telling them the EU’s rulebook for the largest tech platforms was not up for negotiation, MLex understands.
A year ago, the EU executive levied fines in the hundreds of millions of euros against Apple and Meta for failing to comply with the Digital Markets Act, though these were just a fraction of previous fines imposed on those companies. The biggest and most long-running inquiries targeting Google and Apple have yet to conclude.
Just before leaving Washington, the EU's competition chief doubled-down on her red line in an interview at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“If there is an intention to impose and challenge our sovereign right to regulate, we will stand firm,” Ribera said.
* American Bar Association Antitrust Spring Meeting, Washington DC, March 25-27, 2026
** GVH 35: The 8th Hungarian Competition Law Forum, Budapest, March 19, 2026
Please email editors@mlex.com to contact the editorial staff regarding this story, or to submit the names of lawyers and advisers.