President Donald Trump has emerged as tech's regulator-in-chief, with executive interventions more radical than EU oversight. His administration redirected a TikTok ban into a sell-off involving Oracle, co-founded by Trump ally Larry Ellison, and took a 10% stake in Intel to boost domestic chip manufacturing.

The administration has also revoked security clearances for SentinelOne's CEO and punished Anthropic for upholding contractual AI limitations. Trump's AI policy framework bans states from regulating the technology while loosening export controls on China despite national security concerns. Draft rules would require chip sales outside the US to receive Commerce Department approval.

While the EU embraces deregulation through "simplification," Trump's methods represent political, personal, and punitive interventions rather than democratic processes. Both approaches ultimately strengthen the already powerful tech giants, prompting reconsideration of Europe's regulatory framework.