2020 – A Google internal memo outlines a strategy to “counter Thierry Breton” and influence the drafting of the EU’s Digital Services Act, revealing early Big‑Tech lobbying against European regulation [6].

2022 – The “Disinformation Dozen” report identifies 12 anti‑vaccine content producers, and the U.S. later cites this report to justify sanctions against European disinformation actors [2].

2023 – The EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) takes effect, imposing content‑moderation, advertising and platform‑interoperability obligations on online services, with enforcement backed by fines [1].

2024 – The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) comes into force, targeting gatekeeper platforms with rules on fairness and competition, and later leads to the first €700 million fines against Apple and Meta [1].

Feb 11, 2025 – U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance warns at a Paris summit that “excessive regulation of AI could kill a transformative industry,” condemning the EU AI Act, DSA and GDPR as unacceptable [6].

May 2025 – The Trump administration announces a new visa policy that bars foreigners deemed responsible for censoring protected speech in the United States, laying the groundwork for later travel bans [4][5].

Dec 23, 2025 – The State Department imposes visa restrictions on five Europeans—including former EU commissioner Thierry Breton and leaders of Countering Digital Hate, Global Disinformation Index and HateAid—accusing them of pressuring U.S. platforms to censor American viewpoints [2][5].

Dec 24, 2025 – French President Emmanuel Macron condemns the U.S. visa bans as “intimidation and coercion” aimed at undermining European digital sovereignty, pledging to defend the EU’s Digital Services Act [3][4].

Dec 24, 2025 – The European Commission announces it will seek clarification from Washington and promises a response to the bans, defending the EU’s right to regulate digital markets independently [4].

Jan 12, 2026 – President Trump escalates his clash with Europe by threatening penalties on EU tech firms, seeking to block safety researchers and regulators from entering the U.S., while Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg looks to the White House for support against foreign content‑censorship pressures [1].

Jan 12, 2026 – The EU fines X (formerly Twitter) for deceptive verification design; Elon Musk calls the penalty “crazy” and urges a broader response, highlighting friction between U.S. platforms and European enforcement [1].

Jan 12, 2026 – The United States announces visa sanctions against Thierry Breton and four other disinformation‑related officials, prompting European officials to denounce the measures as censorship [1].

Feb 4, 2026 – Le Monde journalists publish “Nos nouveaux maîtres,” a book analyzing the EU‑Big‑Tech power struggle and noting that Donald Trump’s return gives American tech firms a powerful ally against European regulation [6].