Vice-President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen said on Friday that the EU executive branch is demanding information from US platforms Apple, Snapchat, Google, and YouTube over allegations of insufficient child protection. While the European Union has strict regulations governing online spaces, including limits on what children can access online, concern is growing that current measures are not enough to address the problem.
Major tech companies including Meta, X and Google have their European bases in Ireland, meaning they fall under the remit of the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC). "I put all Countries with Digital Taxes, Legislation, Rules, or Regulations, on notice that unless these discriminatory actions are removed, I, as President of the United States, will impose substantial additional Tariffs on that Country's Exports to the USA," Mr Trump said in the post.
"Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a 'verified' status, it negatively affects users' ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with."