Mark Zuckerberg thinks he can make Trump go to war with Europe for him

Mark Zuckerberg wants President Donald Trump to take on the European Union for him, and he’s making that very clear behind closed doors, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

After lining up with the White House earlier this year and dropping a few million bucks in the cookie jar for Mr Trump, Zuck is now pushing the administration to go head-to-head with Brussels over a looming fine and cease-and-desist order from the EU that could rip apart Meta’s entire business model.

Since Trump got back in office, the Meta CEO has made it a priority to roll with the administration’s agenda. He killed off Meta’s diversity department, scrapped the company’s fact-checking programs, and gave UFC President Dana White—a known ally of Trump—a seat on the company’s board.

Mark even showed up to the inauguration with a maroon tie, blending in with the rest of the Silicon Valley elites trying to stay in favor.

Tech titans Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk at the second inauguration of president Donald Trump. Source: Julia Demaree Nikhinson/Pool/AAP

Meta pressures Trump with a favor

The Journal claims that Meta has been telling U.S. trade officials it needs their help fighting off a decision from the European Commission, which is expected to punish Meta under the bloc’s Digital Markets Act. That decision could force Meta to give users in the EU a version of Facebook and Instagram that doesn’t use personalized ads. This would kill the company’s main source of income.

Now, a new batch of U.S. tariffs targeting the EU is scheduled to drop Wednesday, and Meta is hoping those will be used as leverage. Company officials allegedly believe that pressure from Trump could push European regulators to back off or at least reduce the damage.

“This is about the Commission seeking to handicap successful American businesses simply because they’re American, while letting Chinese and European rivals off the hook,” a Meta spokesperson reportedly said in a statement to the Wall Street Journal.

The European Commission denies the accusations, saying on Tuesday that their rules are applied equally to all companies, no matter where they’re based. But Zuck’s had enough of the EU, and people close to Meta reportedly say he’s been angry for over a year as more rulings, rules, and taxes come down from Brussels.

Trump, Mark Zuckerberg hold surprise White House meeting in September 2019 during first Trump term. Source: Al Drago/Reuters

After the Trump inauguration, he told colleagues he wanted to use the administration to push back against global regulations—especially those coming from Europe. He accused EU lawmakers of “institutionalizing censorship and making it difficult to build anything innovative.”

Zuck had flew to Washington in late February and met with U.S. officials to talk about how regulations abroad were hurting American tech companies, and around that same time, the White House signed off on an executive order from Trump, threatening tariffs against governments imposing what it called “burdensome and restrictive” tech rules that limit growth or stop companies from operating.

Where the U.S. stands with EU right now

Last week, U.S. trade officials met with EU officials in D.C. and raised concerns about the Digital Markets Act, as the Commission claims that Meta violated the rules by forcing users to choose between paying a subscription fee or letting the company track their data for ad targeting.

The EU’s competition chief Teresa Ribera said the bloc is moving forward with enforcement and will not let outside political events influence their decisions. However, someone familiar with the Commission’s planning apparently told the Wall Street Journal that some European officials are hesitating to move forward with the fines right before the Trump tariffs go into effect.

Despite that, the regulatory machine is still moving. On Friday, a committee of EU member-state representatives approved the Commission’s plan to order Meta—and also Apple in a separate case—to comply with the Digital Markets Act.

So now Zuckerberg is calling in his White House chit. But who knows if Trump would even care?

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