Meta trying to persuade Trump to fight European Unions looming antitrust fine

Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta is reportedly pleading with the Trump administration to intervene on the social media giant’s behalf as it faces a massive fine under the European Union’s strict antitrust rules.The European Commission, the EU’s competition watchdog, is readying to slap Meta for what is expected to be hundreds of millions of dollars and potentially more than $1 billion, as The Post has reported.Meta will also receive a cease-and-desist notice detailing which practices it must change to get into compliance.In a bid to water down the penalties — or avoid them altogether — Meta executives have pushed US trade officials under Trump to resist the European Union’s efforts, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.“This is not just about fines — it’s 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 said in a statement when reached for comment on the report.The White House and the European Commission representatives did not immediately return The Post’s request for comment.The fine against Meta was expected to be announced by the end of this week – though news site Euractiv reported that EU competition chief Theresa Ribera, who is currently in the US, was delaying the announcement until she returns.Zuckerberg had personally made the case for US pushback on European regulations in meeting with US officials in February.

The Facebook founder has been cozying up to Trump, even visiting him at Mar-a-Lago and naming a key Trump ally, UFC President Dana White, to Meta’s board of directors.Though traditionally tough on Big Tech, Trump has been a vocal critic of the EU’s habit of imposing massive fines on American companies.The president has referred to the penalties as “overseas extortion” and threatened retaliatory measures as part of his ongoing trade dispute with the EU.Th...