A banner outside the EU's Berlaymont building in Brussels calls on European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen to resist ‘big tech’ power. European commissioner Henna Virkkunen. Photograph: Nicolas Tucat/AFP via Getty ImagesKent Walker, head of global affairs at Google, assured the tech commissioner that the online giant remained “deeply committed” to Europe. Washington took the unprecedented step of issuing a travel ban to former commissioner Thierry Breton, the previous enforcer of EU tech rules. Meta, whose European headquarters is based in Dublin, has been pressing the Irish Government to make the case for EU tech regulations and data protection rules to be diluted.

Source: The Irish Times January 08, 2026 08:33 UTC