BRUSSELS — European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen said Wednesday that U.S. courts and European regulators are policing the same technology companies for the same conduct, just through different mechanisms.
Virkkunen made the argument at a G20 meeting of technology ministers in North Carolina, where industry executives including Nvidia's Jensen Huang and Elon Musk had criticized European rules as excessive.
"While Europe employs regulation in advance, the United States frequently relies on court cases to address similar issues," Virkkunen said. She rejected the premise that innovation and regulation are incompatible, citing an Eurobarometer survey showing 80 percent of Europeans support careful AI regulation for safety.
Despite lacking national tech laws, the U.S. remains heavily regulated. Virkkunen pointed out that hundreds of AI rules exist at the state level. The EU's AI Act, by contrast, creates "one rule for the whole market," she said, avoiding a fragmented approach.
The clearest convergence appears in protecting minors on social media. Last month, Meta Platforms reached a settlement with nearly every U.S. state, including provisions for curfews and time limits for teenagers on Instagram and Facebook.
Virkkunen noted that Europe's Digital Services Act already mandates similar protections—requiring platforms to allow users to flag illegal content and choose their preferred recommender system. "Brussels shares the same concerns about the addictive nature of these platforms," she said.
Meta, YouTube and TikTok face thousands of lawsuits in the United States over platform addiction. The European Commission issued preliminary findings in July on Meta's addictive design and age verification processes. It has also opened investigations into TikTok's addictive design and Snapchat's practices.
Virkkunen indicated Brussels is prepared to introduce stronger social media rules, urging platforms to act immediately. The EU's AI Act enforcement powers officially took effect in August, and the Commission is preparing measures to streamline existing rules.
