WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is ramping up attacks on Europe’s digital rules, opening a new front in Washington’s pressure campaign on longtime allies that combines assertions of defending free speech with efforts to protect commercial interests.
Much of the initiative is led by the State Department, which last week sent a request to its offices around Europe seeking “examples of government efforts to limit freedom of speech,” according to a copy reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The push centers on European Union legislation that aims to establish standards for how tech giants including Apple, Google-parent Alphabet, Amazon.com and Meta Platforms should police online content. The U.S. “is committed to shutting down the global censorship-industrial complex,” said another State Department communication seen by the Journal.
The clash over Europe’s digital policies comes as trans-Atlantic ties are already strained over Trump’s decision to impose tariffs and engage with Russia while cooling toward Ukraine, among other issues.
Trump and his team have repeatedly voiced antipathy for the EU. “The European Union is in many ways nastier than China,” Trump said Monday.
