Zuckerberg Tries to Enlist Trump in Fight Against Meta EU Ruling

Mark Zuckerberg was quick to jump on board with President Trump earlier this year. Now he is calling in a favor.

- Sam Schechner & Kim Mackrael

After Trump's election, the Meta Platforms chief executive embraced the incoming president's priorities. He scrapped Meta's diversity team, ended its fact-checking program, and appointed UFC President Dana White, a Trump ally, to its board. Clad in a maroon tie, Zuckerberg was among several Silicon Valley CEOs present for Trump's inauguration.

In recent weeks, in one of Zuckerberg's first specific asks since Trump took office, Meta executives have pressed U.S. trade officials to fight against an expected European Union fine and cease-and-desist order, people familiar with the conversations said.

The expected decision relates to whether Meta should be forced to give Facebook and Instagram users the option of accessing those services free without seeing personalized ads, something that would undercut the main way Meta makes money.

Meta's goal is to push the Trump administration, which is readying a new package of tariffs expected to hit the EU and others on Wednesday, to respond aggressively against what the company says would be a discriminatory decision, the people added. Meta hopes U.S. pressure will persuade the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, to water down how the company has to comply with the decision.