U.S. technology companies are experiencing significant financial challenges due to European Union digital regulations, according to a new factsheet by the CCIA Research Center. The compliance costs alone average $430 million per year for a single large U.S. company, resulting in a total of $2.2 billion annually across the five largest U.S. tech firms.
In addition to compliance expenses, these regulations expose companies to litigation risks, fines, and penalties. Financial exposure under EU digital regulation is estimated between $4.3 billion and $12.5 billion per company each year, amounting to over $20 billion annually for the five major U.S. tech firms.
The volume of EU legislation targeting technology has expanded significantly from 27 pages in 2015 to 931 pages in 2024. This evolving regulatory environment poses challenges for U.S. businesses operating in the EU, potentially affecting innovation, investment, and competitiveness on a global scale while impacting product launches and design.
Trevor Wagener, CCIA’s Chief Economist and Director of the Research Center stated: “A new study finds that discriminatory European Union digital regulations that disproportionately target U.S. technology companies collectively cost leading U.S. employers and exporters tens of billions of dollars annually across compliance costs, opportunistic litigation costs and penalties, and foregone EU revenues.”
