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 — Prime Minister Keir Starmer has defended his decision to put a review of online safety rules on the table in trade talks with the United States. Speaking in parliament on Tuesday, Starmer said that although Britain needs strong internet safety rules to protect children, it also needs to remain a pioneer of free speech. POLITICO first reported last week that a review of the implementation of the Online Safety Act and the U.K.’s new digital markets rulebook were included in a potential U.S.-U.K. deal. The Digital Services Tax, a two percent levy on the revenue of tech companies, is also on the table. All three policies have attracted fierce opposition by the U.S. tech industry. When asked about the ongoing negotiations during a public hearing on Tuesday afternoon by Chi Onwurah, chair of the House of Commons’ Science, Innovation and Technology Committee, Starmer said: “There are questions about the appropriate way to tax digital services. There are questions about how technology impacts with free speech.” But he added: “I have been very clear, in my view, that we need to have an arrangement for digital tax of some sort. And equally, we need to be pioneers of free speech, which we have been for very many years in this country. “But at the same time, we rightly protect under the Online Safety Act further provisions of which are coming into force pretty quickly, and when it comes to dealing with pedophiles and protecting children, I take a pretty strong line that we take the necessary measures in order to do so.” Starmer was less firm on misinformation. When asked by Onwurah about the role of social media stoking riots last summer after murders in Southport, Starmer said there was a need to be “proportionate.” Lib Dem MP Layla Moran also asked Starmer during the Liaison Committee session if parts of the NHS, including U.S. market access to NHS data, were on the table in the talks. He avoided answering directly saying: “I’ve been very protective of the approach we take to the NHS in any dealings with any other country, because it is our greatest asset and we’re not trading it away.” But he added: “I do think there’s work we can do on what use we make of that data, not so much in trade agreements, but right here in the United Kingdom in terms of advancing our own understanding of medicines and preventative measures.” Moran’s question came after the government announced on Monday that it would set up a new “Health Data Research Service” for NHS data, which would provide a “secure single access point to national-scale datasets, slashing red tape for researchers.” Talks are continuing on a draft deal between the U.S. and the U.K., with a U.K. government spokesperson saying last week they wouldn’t set out a timeline on it.