Michael McGrath will meet senior US tech executives in California this week. Look, the schedule includes OpenAI chief Sam Altman and leaders from Apple, Google, Meta, Netflix and YouTube. He's taking an Irish and European brief on online safety and market rules.

Why he's in Silicon Valley

Mr McGrath, Ireland's European Commissioner for Democracy, Justice, the Rule of Law and Consumer Protection, is travelling to California for a string of talks with company chiefs, venture capitalists and safety regulators. Mr McGrath plans to talk about how major US platforms design their services, recommend content, and spot risks to young users. The visit is being framed as a push to explain and secure support for recent EU measures aimed at making the Single Market more predictable and investment-friendly.

This trip isn't just for sightseeing. It has a policy purpose: to press home proposals that Brussels hopes will cut fragmentation across Europe and make it easier for firms to scale across member states. Among those proposals is the EU Inc initiative, which the commissioner will promote as a way to attract foreign investment and encourage companies that scaled back their EU presence to return.

Meetings on the agenda

The programme includes one-on-one discussions with OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman and talks with representatives from Apple, Google, Meta, Netflix and YouTube. Mr McGrath will also meet executives from artificial intelligence firms including Anthropic, and gaming companies such as Roblox and Electronic Arts. In addition, he plans to hold meetings with venture capitalists, tech innovators and US regulatory and online safety agencies.

Those conversations are slated to focus on concrete steps companies could take — around transparency, competition and design of services — to protect users while keeping innovation alive. They will also explore how to make digital markets fairer for consumers when buying and using products online, a policy concern the European Commission expects to address through a forthcoming Digital Fairness Act.

The legal trigger and safety spotlight

The visit comes shortly after a Los Angeles court found Meta (the owner of Facebook and Instagram) and Google (owner of YouTube) liable for causing mental harm to a teenager, a ruling that put renewed public and political attention on platform design and recommendation systems.

That judgment sharpened the EU's focus on how algorithms and product features can encourage addictive behaviour, particularly among children.

Mr McGrath's meetings are designed to pin down how platforms might redesign features, change recommendation systems, or improve age-verification and parental controls. They'll also look into how companies can meet consistent standards across countries, which Brussels wants to do to cut down on regulatory patchwork.

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Politics and trade: a delicate balance

The talks happen amid ongoing tension between the EU and the White House about regulating big tech. President Donald Trump has publicly criticised European regulation of US firms and threatened tariffs on EU goods, arguing those rules unfairly target American companies under the banner of child safety and democratic protection. The political heat adds a geopolitical dimension to what might otherwise look like a regulatory negotiating session.

Yet the economic stakes are large. Since 2023, the EU-US Data Privacy Framework has governed the flow of personal data between Europe and the United States.

The arrangement is central to cross-border commerce — it supports digital services used by individuals and companies and underpins major trade and investment links. A European Commission statement notes that the framework underpins more than $1 trillion in annual trade and investment between the blocs, a reminder that policy choices ripple into business decisions and capital flows.

What tech firms will be asked

In reality, companies will probably get detailed questions on how they recommend content, test new features, and monitor or keep things transparent to protect younger users. Regulators will ask for tangible proof that companies can identify risks and take steps to mitigate them without stifling innovation.

OpenAI and Anthropic executives will be asked how they plan to balance fast development of AI services with safeguards to maintain public trust. Gaming platforms will be pressed on consistent protections across services — because the commissioner wants rules that don't depend on which app the child opens, but on the child using any digital service.

Implications for businesses and consumers

For businesses the immediate question is compliance cost and clarity. Firms want predictable rules that allow them to plan investments and product road maps. The EU Inc initiative is pitched as a response: make the Single Market simpler so companies can scale across borders without juggling divergent national rules. For investors, clearer rules could mean less regulatory uncertainty and more appetite to place capital in European ventures.

Consumers could see changes in how platforms surface content, how aggressively services personalise feeds, and what tools are available to families. That might mean fewer autoplay features, revised recommendation algorithms, more parental controls or clearer labelling on content and adverts. Regulation could also influence litigation risk — the Los Angeles ruling shows courts can be a powerful lever.

Why it matters to Ireland

Mr McGrath is representing Ireland at the same time as he's representing the European Commission. That dual role matters because many Irish policy questions intersect with EU digital rules. Ireland hosts a large number of tech company operations and has long been a focal point for EU-US digital and tax discussions. While Mr McGrath is speaking for the Commission rather than for Dublin alone, the outcomes of these talks will affect Irish regulators, businesses and consumers who operate within the Single Market.

And there's a practical element: Irish and EU regulators will need to coordinate with US firms if new rules require technical and operational changes. That means ongoing dialogue — with individual companies, industry groups and US authorities — is likely to be on Mr McGrath's checklist.

Next steps and regulatory tools

Brussels intends to bring forward the Digital Fairness Act to protect consumers in online transactions, while continuing work on wider digital safety and competition measures. Those laws would sit alongside existing frameworks and enforcement mechanisms, giving regulators more tools to hold platforms to account. Implementation will be gradual and technical, and companies will want to know timelines and practical compliance expectations.

Those timelines matter to markets and to lawmakers. Companies need a runway to adapt; regulators need evidence that changes are having the intended effect on child safety and market openness. Both sides have an incentive to avert a regulatory showdown that could lead to trade friction — especially while the EU-US Data Privacy Framework keeps data flowing.

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The EU-US Data Privacy Framework, in place since 2023, supports more than $1 trillion in trade and investment annually, the European Commission said.

This article was created with AI assistance.