Companies complying with a US investigation into the European Union’s attacks on free speech could be breaking the law, Brussels has claimed.
Vice President of the European Commission Henna Virkkunen said that the body is currently seeking to punish tech companies that complied with a Congressional investigation into European censorship, claiming that by doing so, they may have violated GDPR.
Spearheaded by Ohio lawmaker Rep. Jim Jordan, the investigation found that EU officials had intentionally attempted to interfere in the ability of US citizens to speak freely on the internet, violating their First Amendment-protected rights.
The documents were uncovered after the US House Committee on the Judiciary, which Jordan chairs, sent subpoenas to a number of US companies, including X, Meta, and Google.
According to the recovered material, named EU officials had put pressure on the companies to implement online censorship globally in accordance with the bloc’s Digital Services Act.
Virkkunen now claims that the companies’ decision to comply with the legally-binding orders to hand over information may put them in breach of European rules on data protection, confirming that the bloc was now seeking to launch complaints over the investigation.
“Having published personal data as part of unredacted documents potentially exposes the respective companies to legal liability for personal data breaches under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR),” she claimed.
“Consequently, the Commission is exploring a complaint on behalf of the affected staff members to the competent Data Protection Authority.”
“The Commission remains committed to enforcing the DSA at full speed and, in doing so, stands firmly behind its staff,” she added.
According to subsequent reporting, it is speculated that Ireland’s Data Protection Commission would likely hold jurisdiction for any potential Commission case, as the majority of the companies subpoenaed in the report have their EU headquarters in Dublin.
As of writing, the body has refused to comment in relation to any potential probe.
Wednesday’s accusations represent the latest instance of EU officials pressuring US tech firms on the issue of online censorship, with members of the Commission and European Parliament now regularly lashing out at multinational companies for pushing back against Brussels crusade against “disinformation”.
Members of Emmanuel Macron’s Renew Europe group — which includes Fianna Fáil — have been at the forefront of recent attacks on the Trump administration and American tech sector, with Congress’ recent investigations into their activities receiving a fiery response.
In a letter to the Commission, Renew MEPs claimed the recent US report “attacked” the bloc’s attempts to regulate the internet, before characterising it as an attempt to smear “civil society members involved in combating disinformation and online hate speech”.
“What measures will the Commission take to address the violations of privacy and personal data, and what safeguards will it put in place to ensure that such breaches do not happen again?” they asked the Commission.
Some in the group are now arguing for US firms to be pushed out of Europe entirely.
French officials have been particularly keen to remove American companies from the bloc, with the Macron government even announcing it would cease using Windows operating systems in favour of open-source alternatives.
A potential US tech exit from the European Union would prove devestating for Ireland. As of 2024, US companies directly employed over 240,000 people on the island, with the American Chamber of Commerce in Ireland estimating that these roles indirectly supported a further 168,000 jobs.
“Ireland is home to the top 5 software companies globally, the top 5 industrial automation companies, 14 of the top 15 Med-Tech companies, and 8 of the top 10 global financial services companies,” the body’s 2024 annual report reads.
As of 2026, Jobs linked to the United States are already under pressure, with Meta announcing it could axe up to 20 per cent of its Irish workforce as it shifts investments towards artificial intelligence.
US tariffs levelled against Europe have also rendered hiring in Ireland less attractive to American firms, with the Trump administration regularly floating restrictions on EU imports in response to foreign affairs concerns he has with the bloc, as well as perceived imbalances in relation to trade.