France Suggests EU Tech Fines Fund Bloc Spending; US Cries 'Extortion'
A French minister's comments on using Google's antitrust penalty to reduce member state contributions sparked sharp criticism from the White House.
French Europe Minister Benjamin Haddad suggested that fines imposed on U.S. tech companies, such as the $5.2 billion antitrust penalty against Google, could serve as a new revenue stream for the European Union, potentially lowering member states' budget contributions. Haddad stated on public television that the 4.6 billion euro fine, paid by Google in July after losing a legal appeal regarding its Android operating system, should "automatically lower the contributions of all member states." He described the sum as a "windfall" that would help keep member states' contributions under control.
The White House responded to Haddad's comments by likening the EU's approach to "extortion." White House spokesman Kush Desai issued a statement asserting, "President Trump has unequivocally warned trading partners against imposing digital services taxes, fines, and other forms of extortion on America’s leading technology sector. The administration remains committed to raising these issues with our trading partners."
The ongoing regulatory actions against U.S. tech firms have been a point of contention for the Trump administration. In June, President Trump threatened a 100% tariff on French wines and champagnes if France did not abandon its digital tax on U.S. tech companies. A compromise was reportedly reached between the U.S. and France on this matter in August.
This incident highlights a broader pattern of the EU levying significant fines against American technology giants. In 2018, Google was fined 4.3 billion euros for antitrust violations related to its Android operating system, a fine that was later reduced and paid in July. The EU has previously imposed substantial penalties on other major tech companies, including Apple and Meta (Facebook). In 2024, the European Court of Justice ordered Apple to pay 13 billion euros in back taxes to Ireland. In the same year, Apple was fined an additional 1.8 billion euros for anticompetitive practices related to music streaming services. Meta received a 1.2 billion euro fine in 2023 over transatlantic user data transfers and continues to face scrutiny over its subscription models. Elon Musk's X platform was fined 120 million euros in December 2025 under the Digital Services Act for alleged non-compliance with content moderation and data transparency rules.