US mulls sanctions on officials implementing EU's Digital Services Act: report

[President Trump Speaks In The Oval Office]
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images News

U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is thinking of imposing sanctions on EU or member state officials responsible for implementing the region's Digital Services Act over U.S. complaints that the law censors Americans and imposes costs on U.S. tech companies, Reuters reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter.

Senior State Department officials have not made a final decision if to proceed with the punitive measures that would likely come in the form of visa restrictions, the report added [https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-administration-weighs-sanctions-officials-implementing-eu-tech-law-sources-2025-08-25/].

It was not clear which EU or EU member state officials the action would target, but U.S. officials held internal meetings on the issue last week, the report noted.

The White House and the European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Seeking Alpha.

Trump on Monday threatened to “impose [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4489011-trump-threatens-with-more-tariffs-and-export-curbs-on-nations-with-digital-taxes] substantial additional Tariffs” and "impose export restrictions on selling tech and chips" to countries with digital taxes. Many countries, particularly in Europe, have implemented DSTs targeting U.S. tech giants as DST levies tax on gross revenue rather than net profits, disproportionately burdening companies like Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AAPL]), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOG]) (NASDAQ:GOOGL [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/GOOGL]), Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/AMZN]) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/META]). Trump views these taxes as discriminating against American technology as they give a complete pass to Chinese tech firms.

Earlier this month, Reuters reported that the Trump administration told U.S. diplomats in Europe to launch a lobbying campaign to build opposition to the Digital Services Act, or DSA, in an effort to have it amended or repealed.

The EU's DSA regulates [https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/europe-fit-digital-age/digital-services-act_en] online intermediaries and platforms, which millions of Europeans use every day. The DSA protects consumers and their rights online, and its main goal is to prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation.

Very large online platforms, or VLOPs [https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_2413], with more than 45M users in the EU come under DSA. Certain services from companies like Apple, Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Alibaba (BABA [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BABA]), Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/MSFT]), ByteDance's (BDNCE [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/BDNCE]) TikTok and X, formerly Twitter, are subject to rules under the DSA.

Washington has said the EU is pursuing "undue" restrictions on freedom of expression in its efforts to fight hateful speech, misinformation and disinformation, and that the DSA is further enhancing these curbs, the report noted.

In the early-August directive, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. diplomats to regularly engage with EU governments and digital services authorities to convey U.S. concerns about the DSA and the financial costs for U.S. companies, the report added.

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