1. 📱 EU CENSORING ANOTHER AMERICAN TECH COMPANY

On January 26, 2026, the European Commission made a major regulatory move by designating WhatsApp’s “Channels” feature as a “Very Large Online Platform” under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA). This is because Channels now exceeds the DSA’s 45 million monthly users.

The new designation has triggered the DSA’s toughest speech‑policing rules: mandatory “systemic risk” assessments, expanded content controls, and stepped-up reporting. Brussels says private, end‑to‑end encrypted chats are “off limits,” and the decision has sparked concerns that expanding the EU’s regulatory grip on messaging platforms could continue encroaching on free speech and draw private platforms into political speech policing.

President Trump and his administration have stood in strong opposition to any EU attempt to export its regulations onto American companies. Last month, Vice President JD Vance called out the EU after it imposed heavy fines on another American tech company, X, for failing to comply with DSA speech regulations. VP Vance took to X, saying, “The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.”

EU tech laws that stifle speech not only censor free speech but also hurt the growth of American companies. This new designation of WhatsApp is just the latest example of the EU’s conquest to control the speech of Europeans and keep power over American companies.

2. 💰 BRUSSELS MOVES TO BYPASS PARLIAMENT ON MERCOSUR

The long-negotiated EU-Mercosur trade agreement between the European Union and the South American bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay continues to spark intense debate in Brussels and beyond. After the European Parliament narrowly voted to refer the deal to the Court of Justice of the EU for legal review, a move intended to delay or scrutinise it, the Commission and Council are reportedly preparing to move ahead anyway, effectively sidestepping parliamentary and national safeguards.

The Mercosur will seriously hurt European farmers, outsourcing some agricultural products to South American countries in exchange for more manufactured goods. The Irish government is also arguing that the agreement does not require South American farmers to adhere to the very high standards for farmers in the EU.

Many farmers have raised objections in places like Poland, France, and Ireland, holding protests and staging blockades in opposition to the deal. EU leaders in Brussels continue to turn a blind eye to the demonstrations and are attempting to proceed with the deal. The EU doesn’t care about farmers; it only cares about control.

🚨 AMERICAN COMPANIES PAY FOR BRUSSELS’ FAILURES

The EU is preparing to hand down yet another massive fine to American tech following the closing of SetApp Mobile, the first alternative App Store in the EU since the DMA entered into force.

While Brussels has publicly blamed Apple for the blunder, a recent article suggests that the EU itself is the one at fault, and that they’re attempting to shift the responsibility for their own failures onto their American competitors.

The Commission has been employing “political delay tactics” to slow-roll new app policies, incurring delays that will allow Brussels to investigate and ultimately fine Apple. These include failing to respond to a DMA-compliance plan Apple submitted last October and, more recently, refusing to let Apple implement the very changes which the EU had requested, according to the company.

Considering the EU netted €3.8 Billion fining American tech companies in 2024 (compared to only €3.2 billion, which it collected from taxing its own tech companies), Brussels appears to be doing all it can to protect this precious revenue stream, even if at the expense of American firms.

Unfortunately for the EU, President Trump is working hard to ensure this revenue stream is short-lived and that Brussels can no longer piggyback off American innovation and ingenuity. It’s time for the EU to finally confront its own competitiveness gap instead of leeching off American success.