How to Retaliate Against an American Bully

EU courts must end the business model of deception

Photo: Hans von Sonntag

Donald Trump — the long-foreseen (and by some anxiously awaited) wrecking ball of Western democracy — now feels emboldened to retaliate against the world. His primary targets? China and Europe. Why? Because the US trade deficit with these economies makes him feel small. For a proper bully, feeling less is unbearable. Being somewhat simplistic, he assumes that money hurts his adversaries the most. His weapon of choice? Raising tariffs.

The standard response to tariff hikes is to raise tariffs in return. Economists call this a trade war. Both sides lose — the only question is who loses more. Trump, believing America is the God-preferred nation, assumes it will always be his so-called enemies. There’s some truth to this: in a tariff-based trade war, the larger economy has an advantage, but it loses, too.

This isn’t exactly a Goliath vs David story in the US vs EU case, as the EU economy is placed third in the world. However, Europeans live 5 years longer than their American friends. So, that is that.

When someone bombards your house, you got to fight back

Trump is expected to raise tariffs on European goods significantly. Europe cannot let that happen without retaliation. When someone bombards your house, you either fight back or accept defeat. This is serious business, and it requires a strategic response. For perspective, the EU imported €396 billion in services from the U.S. in 2023, creating a €104 billion trade deficit. This means more money flowed from Europe to the U.S. than vice versa, with a significant share linked to the digital industry.

What’s more, not everything from the US enhances Europe's way of life. Most notably, the American disinformation industry — led vocally by Elon Musk’s X platform — is dragging European discourse into the abyss. Musk euphemises lying as freedom of speech, echoing Orwell’s War is Peace and Two Minutes of Hate (as if bots and algorithms should have the right to speak freely). But he is not alone. As the US increasingly morphs into an oligarchy, his billionaire peers have bought into this new policy of total disinformation, aligning themselves with Trump’s agenda.

(In that context, it’s noteworthy that the EU released the European Media Freedom Act in 2024 to ensure free speech and investigative journalism.)

In the EU, the Digital Services Act (DSA) became law for the big US platforms in 2023, like Facebook and X. Since then, these platforms have faced legal challenges because they must comply with rules similar to what classic media outlets traditionally deal with, particularly concerning content moderation and advertising practices. However, as always, such laws must be enforced. The fines for not complying are relatively low, with up to 6% of a company’s global annual turnover. This is peanuts when considering Facebook’s 2024 revenue of more than 160 billion US dollars.

An Alternative to the Tariff War

Why does this matter in a trade war? Fighting fire with fire assumes your opponent has the same vulnerabilities. Trump is attacking Europe’s core industries, those that define its cultures and diverse identities. This isn’t just about German cars, French wine, or Italian olive oil; it’s an attack on what Europeans hold dear: their highly diverse identities (most Americans will never understand that).

So, what defines the US today? Not Tesla (I own one — I feel the pain, and yes, a BMW is a better car). I’d argue that America’s most influential industry is disinformation, not automotive or tech.

Europe’s Most Effective Weapon

Here’s my proposal: Instead of focusing on tariffs, the EU Commission should ensure that the US disinformation industry abides by the existing law by going tough on X and Facebook in the courts. These companies should be held to the same standards as Le Monde, Bild, La Repubblica, ARD, RTVE, and other European media outlets, understanding them as dangerous, privileged competitors whose privileges must be stripped away.

As Europe is the US digital industry’s best foreign customer, buying roughly half of the exported digital cake, legal strikes would be far more damaging to Silicon Valley’s business model than tariffs and meet at the heart of Trump’s agenda by curbing his business model of disinformation in Europe.

Moreover, enforcing Meta and X to moderate their content to European standards would ignite a culture war in the US, question America’s interpretational sovereignty on free speech and democracy, and make Europe great again. Seriously, Europe needs a win in this war beyond economics. Unshackling itself from US cultural domination is crucial to a sovereign future in a multipolar world.

The Perfect Timing

There has never been a better moment to act. Scientific consensus recognises that unregulated social media is the biggest threat to democracy and mental health. It’s time for Europe to lead the way — just as it did when it reined in the tobacco industry in 2001. Only this time, the stakes are much higher.

What About the Transatlantic Relationship?

Would such a move harm the European-American alliance? Hardly. Half the US population suffers as much from the disinformation industry as Europeans do (and arguably also the other half). They despise Trump’s ugly agenda and, like Europeans, understand that freedom and truth are two sides of the same coin.