Vestag said that EU science and technology policy is not anti-U.S.

The EU’s head of digital and competition policy, Margrethe Vestager, rejected the view that the forthcoming Digital Markets Act (DMA) only targets US technology companies.

After she spoke The White House warns Brussels The tone surrounding its flagship new technology policy sent a negative message and hinted that the EU “has no intention of sincerely engaging with the US” the challenges posed by large technology platforms.

Vestager, who met with President Joe Biden during his visit to Brussels this week, said in an interview with the Financial Times: ” [DMA] Does not target certain companies or companies of certain nationalities. “

DMA outlines new rules for platforms that are considered large enough to be “gatekeepers.”

“We have been developing while trying to figure out who should be in range and who should be the possible goalkeeper, and this has to do with the market impact,” Vestag said.

She said the draft legislation that will now be debated by the European Parliament focuses on the “market effect” of the dominance of large technology companies over smaller competitors.

She said that the standards set by the European Union will help to set a wider focus, not just the largest companies in Silicon Valley: Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft. She said: “Due to the market effect, we have every reason to put forward a wider range of proposals.”

Vestagg’s comments will be seen as Brussels’ attempt to ease tensions between the European Union and the United States, when both sides were eager to rebuild transatlantic relations after four years of turmoil under Donald Trump’s leadership.

But last month, German MEP Andreas Schwab, who will help guide DMA legislation through the European Parliament, said that US technology companies are the “biggest problem.”

“Let’s focus first on the biggest problem, the biggest bottleneck. Let us go down this line-one, two, three, four, five-maybe six [China’s] Alibaba,” he said.

The US government is under pressure to take a tougher stance on the EU’s plan to regulate large technology companies. The co-chairs of the U.S. Digital Trade Caucus recently warned that EU legislation may “Disproportionate damage American Technology Corporation”.

However, despite accusing the EU of unfairly targeting US companies, the US government has appointed harsh critics of large technology companies to key positions of power. Just last week, Lina Khan, who strongly supports the separation of American companies, was appointed as the chairman of the Federal Trade Commission.

In addition, the US House of Representatives proposed five bills, some of which are even stricter than the Brussels draft legislation. Observers pointed out that both the U.S. and the EU are facing taming that has become “Too big to care“.