Campaigner billboards urge VDL: ‘Fight for the EU, not Trump’s tech bros’
Mobile billboards and posters call on von der Leyen to fight for Europe as the EU weakens key digital protections – with the Google ad-tech monopoly case now
Mobile billboards and posters call on von der Leyen to fight for Europe as the EU weakens key digital protections - with the Google ad-tech monopoly case now the defining test.
Brussels - On Wednesday morning, 19 November, campaigners will deploy four mobile billboards to drive around the Brussels quarter, alongside hundreds of fly posters across the city, urging Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to resist pressure from Trump and Big Tech, and fight for Europe by upholding its digital laws [1,2].
The action, directing viewers to ‘StandUpUrsula.com’ (p:fightforeurope2025), is a collaboration between People vs Big Tech, WeMove Europe, and European Digital Rights (EDRi) [3]. It coincides with the release of the Commission’s Digital Omnibus, a package expected to weaken and delay enforcement of core digital protections like the AI Act and GDPR, under intense US and Big Tech pressure.
Campaigners warn this marks a dangerous turning point and say von der Leyen must take Europe in a different direction by defending its own laws from foreign pressure, starting with standing firm on the EU’s contentious Google adtech antitrust case.
“It’s extraordinary that at the very moment France and Germany are hosting a summit on European digital sovereignty, Ursula von der Leyen is bowing to pressure from Trump and Big Tech in Brussels, announcing the biggest rollback of EU tech protections we’ve ever seen,” said Ava Lee, Executive Director of People vs Big Tech.
“Europe’s landmark digital and antitrust laws are meant to protect our democracy, our rights, and our economy. If Europe genuinely wants to govern itself, it has to start enforcing its own laws, beginning with breaking up Google’s advertising monopoly, not gutting digital protections under the guise of ‘simplification’,” she added.
Alongside the mobile billboards, posters appear across the EU Quarter, showing Trump cosied up with Google CEO Sundar Pichai, Meta owner Mark Zuckerberg, Elon Musk of X, and Apple CEO Tim Cook, with the message: “Ursula! Fight for Europe - not for them!”. They direct viewers to a webpage, StandUpUrsula.com, featuring two petitions, collectively already signed by over 200,000 people, calling on von der Leyen to break up Google’s advertising monopoly.
The action also comes just days after Google revealed its proposal in response to the Commission’s September ruling that the company had illegally entrenched its monopoly across the online advertising supply chain. The proposal offered modest tweaks to its products, rather than a structural divestment, despite Vice-President Ribera signalling that only a structural separation of parts of the adtech business is likely to be acceptable.
Campaigners say the Commission’s decision on whether to enforce a break up of Google’s advertising business is now the clearest test of whether Europe will enforce its digital laws or retreat in the face of US pressure.
“Google’s monopoly has gutted independent journalism, harmed small businesses, and handed staggering power to a US tech giant that evidently shows little regard for Europe’s democracy or public interest,” said Taïme Smit, campaigner for WeMove. “Europeans are paying the price through fewer media outlets, less choice online, and weaker protections for our data and rights.”
“Citizens have made it crystal clear they want the Commission to enforce its own laws, even if it creates tension with Trump. Ensuring Big Tech follows our laws will allow us to protect our rights, help us build European alternatives and strengthen our resilience, elections and sovereignty.”
Since returning to office, Trump and his administration have escalated pressure on Europe’s digital laws, warning that countries imposing digital taxes or tech rules could face tariffs and export restrictions. US officials have also mounted a ‘lobbying blitz’ to oppose the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act. Meanwhile, Big Tech has sharply increased its lobbying spend in Brussels: recent research estimates firms now spend €151 million a year, up more than 50% in four years, and meet Commission officials more than once a day.
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