Joan Osborne sings Bob Dylan, the Autry block party, a Black surf celebration in Huntington Beach, L.A. Opera presents West Side Story and more of the best things to do this weekend.
Highlights:
Through Oct. 12, the L.A. Opera is putting on the Leonard Bernstein classic West Side Story at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. But you don’t have to go downtown to get in on the action. Enjoy a summer evening outside at the Santa Monica Pier or in Altadena’s Loma Alta Park on Saturday, where the musical will be simulcast live.
Hang ten at the Black surfing event of the year. Huntington Beach hosts the fourth annual Great Day in the Stoke, which began in 2022 as the world's largest gathering of Black surfers.
Live music and cultural performances, a PBS character meet and greet, en plein air painting, a classic car show, carnival games and much more take over the Autry Museum of the American West for their annual block party. This year, the event honors our brave L.A. first responders.
Did you know that of L.A.'s more than 1,300 officially landmarked buildings, only three women architects are recognized? That’s less than 2%. LAist’s Brandon Killman covered the work of the newly founded L.A. Women's Landmarks Project, a partnership between the National Trust's Where Women Made History initiative and the Los Angeles Conservancy.
Avid readers and city explorers will have some new architecture tour opportunities coming up very soon, allowing you to follow along with the work of those organizations and check out the contributions made by women to our fine city. For example, I now want to go back to the Bradbury Building with Simona Martinez Bradbury in mind, the Mexican woman who took over construction of the now Blade Runner-famous landmark after her husband's death.
Saturday, September 27, 7:30 p.m. Passion & Tragedy Terrace Theater 300 E. Ocean Blvd., Long Beach COST: FROM $39; MORE INFO
(
Caught in the Moment Photography
/
Long Beach Symphony
)
You can really get your West Side Story fill this weekend, starting with this selection of works, including Bernstein’s masterpiece as well as compositions by Chopin, Guillaume and Tchaikovsky at the Long Beach Symphony. Get there early for a 6:30 p.m. pre-concert talk with conductor Eckart Preu and featured artists.
Saturday, September 27, 3 p.m. Matinees on the Mountain: Close Encounters of the Third Kind Mount Wilson Observatory 1000 Mt. Wilson Circle, Mount Wilson COST: $20; MORE INFO
Not only will you be blown away going up the mountain to see a movie in the mystical Mount Wilson Observatory Dome, you’ll also be treated to a performance by the Bob Baker Marionette Theater Puppets. Bob Baker worked on the alien puppets and special effects in Steven Spielberg’s 1977 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and his theater will be on hand to bring the film to life at the matinee.
Saturday, September 27, 8 p.m. James The Bellwether 333 S. Boylston St., Downtown L.A. COST: RESALE PRICES VARY; MORE INFO
C’mon, you know you know all the words. Laaaaa—-iiiiiiii—d. Head to the Bellwether for a special full album performance of James’ Brian Eno-produced 1993 opus Laid. The set will be followed by fan favorite hits, rarities, deep cuts and material from their 2024 UK no. 1 album, Yummy, which Ireland's Hot Press described as "a poppier OK Computer." Sold.
Tickets are currently sold out, but you can find a few tickets available via resellers.
Saturday, September 27 Autry Annual Block Party Autry Museum of the American West 4700 Western Heritage Way, Griffith Park COST: $19; MORE INFO
(
Autry Museum of the American West
)
Live music and cultural performances, a PBS character meet and greet, en plein air painting, a classic car show, carnival games and much more take over the Autry Museum of the American West for their annual block party. This year, the event honors our brave L.A. first responders.
Sunday, September 28, 7 p.m. Aída Cuevas The Luckman Fine Arts Complex at Cal State LA 5151 State University Drive, El Sereno COST: FROM $56; MORE INFO
One of Mexico’s most enduring and influential musical artists, Aída Cuevas, the "Queen of Ranchera Music," brings five decades of hits to Cal State’s Luckman Fine Arts complex. Backed by a first-class mariachi ensemble, Cuevas combines music and storytelling, celebrating Mexican culture.
Sunday, September 28, 8 p.m. Joan Osborne sings Bob Dylan The Venice West 1717 Lincoln Blvd., Venice COST: $62; MORE INFO
Joan Osborne performs a farewell show at Varick Street City Winery in New York in 2019.
(
Bobby Bank
/
Getty Images
)
Sorry, not sorry for all the '90s shows this weekend, but I have to give a shout-out to Joan Osborne, who is playing the super intimate Venice West. She’ll perform songs from Bob Dylan, drawing from her 2017 album of Dylan covers, and I am sure — well, I hope — there will also be a big “One of Us” sing-along.
September 25-27 Nora Chipaumire's Dambudzo REDCAT 631 W. 2nd St., Downtown L.A. COST: $27; MORE INFO
Performance artist and choreographer Nora Chipaumire explores the meaning of the Shona word "dambudzo," which translates to “trouble” in this new work at REDCAT. She also references Zimbabwean writer Dambudzo Marechera and uses a soundscape of barking dogs and live music to immerse visitors in what she calls “a name, a desire, a lament, an inspiration, even a loathing — a poem — that speaks to the 1980s before the fall of communism and the end of apartheid.” Friday’s performance features a post-show Q&A with Chipaumire and Katy Dammers, REDCAT's Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Performing Arts.
Outdoor Pick
Saturday, September 27 A Great Day in the Stoke Huntington Beach Pier Main Street and Pacific Coast Highway, Huntington Beach COST: FREE; MORE INFO
Hang ten at the Black surfing event of the year. Huntington Beach hosts the fourth annual Great Day in the Stoke, which began in 2022 as the world's largest gathering of Black surfers. It’s free to attend, and you can read more about the event, its founders and mission in LAist Senior Editor Dana Littlefield's story this week.
Viewing Pick
Saturday, September 27, 7:30 p.m. West Side Story Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, 135 N. Grand Ave., Downtown L.A. Santa Monica Pier, 200 Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica Loma Alta Park, 3330 N. Lincoln Ave., Altadena COST: DTLA: VARIES, SANTA MONICA & ALTADENA: FREE; MORE INFO
Duke Kim as Tony and Gabriella Reyes as Maria.
(
Cory Weaver
/
L.A. Opera
)
I warned you that there was a lot of West Side Story this week! Through Oct. 12, the L.A. Opera is putting on the Leonard Bernstein classic at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, with the full stage treatment and all the original, beloved Jerome Robbins choreography. But you don’t have to go downtown to get in on the action. Enjoy a free summer evening outside at the Santa Monica Pier or in Altadena’s Loma Alta Park, where the musical will be simulcast live. There will also be fun pre-show events in both locations.
Dine & Drink Deals
Sunday, September 28, 5 p.m. Poppy Presents: 'Us Friends,' a 7-Course tasting menu Poppy & Seed 350 S. Anaheim Blvd., Anaheim COST: $450; MORE INFO
(
Poppy & Seed
)
A seven-course dining experience from Chef Tracey Shepos alongside Poppy & Seeds' Michael Reed and Kwini Reed, this special night includes wines from Kendall Jackson Estate and is aimed at celebrating “connection, creativity, and the joy of gathering at the table.” Fifteen percent of all dinner proceeds will benefit their close charitable partner, No Kid Hungry, a national campaign striving to end childhood hunger.
Ongoing, 3 to 6 p.m. Girl Dinner Ospi Venice 2025 Pacific Ave., Venice COST: $33; MORE INFO
If you’re looking to milk the end of summer with more delicious Aperol Spritzes and Italian food, Ospi Venice has you covered with their "Girl Dinner" special (and we can pick apart that annoying term later). It’s a pick three for $33 deal with choices including spicy rigatoni, crispy provolone, and of course spritzes, available during aperativo hour, 3 to 6 p.m.
A pint of beer is served at the Great British Beer Festival on Aug. 1, 2006, in London.
(
Peter Macdiarmid
/
Getty Images
)
Topline:
The FIFA World Cup is coming to L.A. in 2026. Fans of clubs from different parts of the world will probably look for something familiar when they land in L.A.
And ... one British expat and writer has put together this guide for the best European pubs to watch games in the L.A. area.
The FIFA World Cup is just a few months away, and some national soccer teams, like Cape Verde, Curacao and Uzbekistan are competing for the first time. Their fans — and those of the other 45 countries — will probably look for something familiar when they land in L.A.
Whether it’s a fast food logo or a restaurant serving regional dishes from home, that sense of familiarity can be the first stepping stone before you start discovering the delights of where you are now.
When I arrived in Los Angeles from England, I was soon directed to Ye Olde King's Head in Santa Monica. Judging by the dozens of photographs on the wall, it has been a kind of entry checkpoint for newly arrived British Isles celebrities and regulars alike since the 1970s. They do afternoon tea, of course, plus their bar will open early to show UK soccer matches. Their store has snacks and candy for the homesick.
It was, of course, reassuring for me to hear familiar accents and recognize the beers on tap and even some of the crisps — sorry, chips — behind the bar. Asking whether any “football” matches were going to be shown didn’t raise any eyebrows either, even though that could mean having to arrive soon after sunrise because of the time difference in the UK.
British comfort food at Ye Olde King's Head in Santa Monica.
(
Donal Tavey
)
Even if I had been living locally, I don’t think it would have become my “local” (as it were) because I thought it was important to try to get to know my new home, rather than hold on too tight to what I had just left behind.
That said, I did occasionally return to watch football matches and even for a couple of New Year’s Eves, which happen here at 4 p.m. to coincide with midnight in England. Then I could call home and hear the singing of “Auld Lang Syne” while we in the pub were singing it at the same time.
Here's a select list of pubs where you can sample the drinks, eats and even watch the sports from several European countries.
Ireland
The Auld Fella (Culver City & Brentwood) 9375 Culver Blvd., Culver City
Auld Fella in Culver City
(
Kevin Kearns
/
Courtesy Auld Fella
)
Owned by an actual Irishman, Kevin Kearns from Inishowen, they pour an excellent Guinness (don’t ask any Irish person about the importance of that, nor how hard it is to find that in L.A.) and have a good selection of savory pies. Kevin’s also an actor and appeared in blockbuster Battleship.
Tom Bergin’s (Mid-Town/Fairfax) 840 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles
Tom Bergin's in the Fairfax District.
(
James Bartlett
/
LAist
)
An L.A. staple since 1936, it’s the center of celebrations on St. Patrick’s Day. Stapled to the ceiling and walls around the horseshoe bar are shamrocks with the names of past patrons: try to find Cary Grant, Kiefer Sutherland, Ronald Reagan and Bing Crosby. A short menu, but you can get shepherd’s pie (steak, carrots, celery, caramelized onions, under mashed potatoes), and it’s said to have invented Irish coffee. Choose that or a good Guinness.
Molly Malone’s (Mid-Town/Fairfax) 575 S. Fairfax Ave., Los Angeles
Molly Malone's in the Fairfax District.
(
James Bartlett
/
LAist
)
Owned by Irish family the Hanlons since 1969, Molly’s was damaged by a fire last year but bounced right back with its dark interior and original mission as a place where Irish troubadours and traditional musicians could get together. It’s long been a respected music venue and occasionally gets some bigger names on stage. You’ll get a good pour here, too, though the menu is just a few items long.
Named after a bonnet worn by Scotsmen, the “Tam” looks like a castle crossed with a witch’s house, in part because the original fairytale European look wasn’t a hit for owners Van de Kamp bakeries when they opened in 1922, so they pivoted to kilts, flags and bagpipes. Actors came in from the nearby studios, and famously, Walt Disney and his companions were regulars. A steakhouse, it also offers Scottish rarebit (cheddar, Scottish ale, cayenne pepper on sourdough) and, as you see when you enter, a large selection of scotch whiskeys. It even has resident ghosts!
Head to Wirsthaus to experience the best of Bavaria with steins of German beers, giant pretzels, schnitzel (boneless, thin slices of meat that are pounded, breaded and pan-fried until golden and crispy), bratwurst (sausages), plenty of oompah music and staff dressed in traditional dirndls and lederhosen — the Hollywood movie go-to for scenes of beer debauchery.
Red Lion Tavern (Silver Lake) 2366 Glendale Blvd., Los Angeles
Red Lion in Los Feliz.
(
Trashingetc
/
Courtesy Red Lion
)
Originally an “Olde English” pub opened by the then-owners of Cole’s in downtown, it always had some German beers on draft, and in 1963, new owners fully embraced that. The German wife of one of them reportedly taught her home recipes to the chef, and it was German-owned until 2004, when Aidas Mattis and family, longtime patrons, took over. They kept up the style at this small, maze-like local favorite: flags, German signs, memorabilia and the back-patio beer garden. Schnitzel, spaetzle (doughy noodles), goulash and bratwurst are on the menu, as well as many beers and ciders. Oktoberfest runs Oct. 14, 15, 21 and 22. Try a four-liter boot of beer.
England
The Cat & Fiddle (West Hollywood) 742 Highland Ave., West Hollywood
The Cat & Fiddle in West Hollywood.
(
James Bartlett
/
LAist
)
Located on Sunset Boulevard for several decades, “The Cat” has long been an expat hangout, especially for musicians. Now on Highland Avenue, the Gardner children carry on offering a friendly face and a familiar meal to all visitors. Their Sunday roasts are a real taste of home, and they have other classic British dishes like shepherd’s pie, a ploughman’s lunch (Gloucester, brie, scotch egg, grapes, cornichons, Branston pickle and baguette), Scotch egg and sticky toffee pudding. Want to know what those last two are? Go visit!
The Canaby (in the works)
Soon, ex-pats will be able to try Gordon Ramsay at the Carnaby, a recently announced 175-seat British gastropub that will open at Downtown Disney and bring 1960s London to Anaheim. Live bands will play music from that fab era, and dishes will include beef Wellington, fish and chips and sticky toffee pudding. No word yet on an opening date.
The Trump administration has removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from next year's calendar of entrance fee-free days for national parks and added President Trump's birthday to the list, according to the National Park Service.
Why now: The administration continues to push back against a reckoning of the country's racist history on federal lands.
Other free dates: In addition to Trump's birthday — which coincides with Flag Day (June 14) — the updated calendar of fee-free dates includes the 110th anniversary of the NPS (August 25), Constitution Day (September 17) and President Teddy Roosevelt's birthday (October 27). The changes will take effect starting January 1.
The Trump administration has removed Martin Luther King Jr. Day and Juneteenth from next year's calendar of entrance fee-free days for national parks and added President Trump's birthday to the list, according to the National Park Service, as the administration continues to push back against a reckoning of the country's racist history on federal lands.
In addition to Trump's birthday — which coincides with Flag Day (June 14) — the updated calendar of fee-free dates includes the 110th anniversary of the NPS (August 25), Constitution Day (September 17) and President Teddy Roosevelt's birthday (October 27). The changes will take effect starting January 1.
Non-U.S. residents will still be required to pay entrance fees on those dates under the new "America-first pricing" policy. At 11 of some of the country's most popular national parks, international visitors will be charged an extra $100, on top of the standard entrance fee, and the annual pass for non-residents will go up to $250. The annual pass for residents will be $80.
The move follows a July executive order from the White House that called to increase fees applied to non-American visitors to national parks and grant citizens and residents "preferential treatment with respect to any remaining recreational access rules, including permitting or lottery rules."
The Department of the Interior, which oversees NPS, called the new fee-exempted dates "patriotic fee-free days," in an announcement that lauded the changes as "Trump's commitment to making national parks more accessible, more affordable and more efficient for the American people."
The Interior Department did not immediately respond to NPR's request for comment.
Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum said in a statement: "These policies ensure that U.S. taxpayers, who already support the National Park System, continue to enjoy affordable access, while international visitors contribute their fair share to maintaining and improving our parks for future generations."
The new calendar follows the Trump administration's previous moves to reshape U.S. history by asking patrons of national parks to flag any signs at sites deemed to cast a negative light on past or living Americans.
Copyright 2025 NPR
Neighbors confront Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Special Response Team officers following an immigration raid at the Italian restaurant Buono Forchetta in San Diego on May 30, 2025.
(
Photo courtesy Pedro Rios
)
Topline:
A new poll shared exclusively with CalMatters adds to a slate of surveys suggesting Californians’ support is waning for Trump’s harshest immigration enforcement policies.
About the poll: The Goodwin Simon Strategic Research poll examines California voters’ attitudes toward due process for immigrants with criminal convictions during the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on unauthorized immigration. The survey also examined support for how tax dollars are spent and Californians’ views on the state’s sanctuary policies.
The findings: There is bipartisan support for ensuring that immigrants facing deportation receive due process, including ones with criminal records.
If you found out your neighbor had a past criminal conviction, your knee-jerk reaction might be that you’d want them relocated.
But what if that person committed a burglary in their late teens, served years in state prison, turned their life around, and now mentors at-risk youth?
Do the details matter? Researchers found that they do.
A new poll by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research examines California voters’ attitudes toward due process for immigrants with criminal convictions during the Trump administration’s nationwide crackdown on unauthorized immigration. The survey also examined support for how tax dollars are spent and Californians’ views on the state’s sanctuary policies.
It found bipartisan support for ensuring that immigrants facing deportation receive due process, including ones with criminal records.
“This survey shows that there’s clear concern about the current administration’s approach to immigration enforcement,” said Sara Knight, a research director at Goodwin Simon Strategic Research. “I’m not surprised by the results, but I am heartened to see how strong the support for due process is and the growing frustration with treating people inhumanely in our immigration system.”
President Donald Trump campaigned on the promise of mass deportations that targeted criminals, among other things, and he has made good on that. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have arrested more than 160,608 noncitizens nationwide with criminal convictions or pending charges, since his inauguration.
The Trump administration has sought to expand the use of “expedited removal,” which allows immigration officers to remove certain non-citizens, like those convicted of crimes, from the United States without a hearing before an immigration judge.
Researchers say this latest poll by Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, released to CalMatters this week, also reflects waning support, even among a small majority of Republicans for the harshest immigration enforcement practices. It showed 84% of Democrats, 61% of independents, and 54% of Republicans agreed that “even if someone does have a record, they deserve due process and the chance to have their case heard by a judge before being deported.”
The poll was commissioned by the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the National Day Laborer Organizing Network, both pro-immigrant organizations. Goodwin Simon Strategic Research describes itself on its website as an “independent opinion research firm.” Researchers wrote the survey questions and polled more than 1,200 self-identified voters. Knight said the partisan divide among those polled mirrored the party-affiliation split in the electorate. The margin of error was 3 points.
Some other recent polls echo similar conclusions released in recent weeks, including one released last week by UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab that found one-third of Latino voters who supported Trump now regret their choice. Another public opinion poll by the nonpartisan research firm Public Policy Institute of California found 71% of Californians surveyed said they disapproved of the job ICE is doing. And, a CNN exit poll after the Proposition 50 redistricting election on Nov. 4 found that about three-quarters of California voters said they’re dissatisfied with or angry about the way things are going in the U.S., and 6 in 10 said the Trump administration’s actions on immigration enforcement have gone too far.
Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, pointed to other recent national polls to argue the public supports Trump’s immigration policies.
“President Trump and (Homeland Security) Secretary (Kristi) Noem are delivering on the American people’s mandate to deport illegal aliens, and the latest polls show that support for the America First agenda has not wavered — including a New York Times poll that nearly 8 in 10 Americans support deporting illegal aliens with criminal records,” McLaughlin said in a written statement.
“The American people, the law, and common sense are on our side, and we will not stop until law and order is restored after Biden’s open border chaos flooded our country with the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens,” she continued.
From prison to ICE
In the more recent Goodwin Simon Strategic Research poll, 61% of voters surveyed said they want California’s prison system to stop directly handing immigrants over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation.
The state’s sanctuary law does not apply to immigrants who have been convicted of serious crimes. State prisons have transferred to ICE more than 9,500 people with criminal records since Gov. Gavin Newsom took office in 2019, according to data released to CalMatters. So far in 2025, ICE has picked up 1,217 inmates directly from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the data shows.
The corrections department also provides ICE with information that helps the agency locate, arrest, and deport people who are not directly transferred. CalMatters obtained and reviewed more than 27,000 pages of emails between state prison employees and ICE. The emails show prison employees regularly communicate with ICE about individuals in state custody, including U.S. citizens. They often share personal details about their families, visitors, and phone calls. Often, these family members have no criminal records and are U.S. citizens
Newsom, U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, and Speaker Robert Rivas have all denounced ICE’s broader deportation efforts. But all three have also indicated some level of support for having federal immigration officials remove noncitizens with prior convictions for violent crimes from the community.
The governor has stated he would veto legislation that seeks to restrict the state prison system’s ability to coordinate with federal immigration authorities for the deportation of felons.
‘We may be deporting the wrong people’
Goodwin Simon researchers found that voters’ opinions change when they find out more details about the personal circumstances of a noncitizen with a past criminal conviction, even for violent crime. Pollsters gave two narratives to voters.
One was about a man who was brought to the United States from Mexico as a child. He got into a fight in his early 20s that left someone injured. The man was sentenced to seven years in state prison, where he turned his life around by taking college classes and helping other inmates get their high school diplomas. When he got out of prison, he was deported to Mexico before an immigration judge could decide on his case.
The other narrative was about a person closely connected to a man whose family fled genocide in Cambodia when he was a baby. In the U.S., the man was the lookout for a robbery when he was a teenager and served 30 years in state prison. Upon his release, prison officials turned him over to ICE.
“We may be deporting the wrong people. Although this last person did commit a crime, he has served his time and is now a valuable member of society, so it would be hard to say for sure if a person ever committed a crime deserves to be sent back. That is why the due process is important,” one Republican voter from Sacramento responded to the poll. She shifted her opinion from the view that people with past criminal convictions should be automatically deported to favoring a judge reviewing each individual case after hearing the narratives.
After voters reviewed both pro- and anti-messaging and the two stories, support for having an immigration judge review individual cases before deportation increased from 84% to 90% among Democrats; from 61% to 74% among independents, but it dropped from 54% to 51% among Republicans. Central Coast voters and Republican women voters increased support for due process by 9 points after hearing the stories.
The European Union has announced a fine of $140 million against Elon Musk's X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, for several failures to comply with rules governing large digital platforms.
The backstory: In July 2024, in a set of preliminary findings, the European Commission formally accused X — which serves more than 100 million users within the EU — of several violations. These included its failure to meet transparency mandates, obstructing researchers' access to data and misleading users by converting the blue verification badge into a paid subscription feature.
Read on ... for more on Musk's battle with the EU.
The European Union has announced a fine of $140 million against Elon Musk's X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, for several failures to comply with rules governing large digital platforms. A European Commission spokesperson said the fine against X's holding company was due to the platform's misleading use of a blue check mark to identify verified users, a poorly functioning advertising repository, and a failure to provide effective data access for researchers.
Europe's preference had not been to fine X, said the spokesperson, Thomas Regnier, as he drew a contrast with the Chinese-owned platform TikTok. Regnier announced Friday that TikTok had separately offered concessions that would allow it to avoid such penalties.
"If you engage constructively with the Commission, we settle cases," Regnier said at a press conference in Brussels. "If you do not, we take action."
The possibility that X would face financial penalties in Europe had drawn significant political fire, not only from Musk but also from others in Washington, D.C., over the past two years since the European Commission began its investigation.
"Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship," Vice President J.D. Vance wrote on X on Thursday. "The EU should be supporting free speech, not attacking American companies over garbage."
In July 2024, in a set of preliminary findings, the European Commission formally accused X — which serves more than 100 million users within the EU — of several violations. These included its failure to meet transparency mandates, obstructing researchers' access to data and misleading users by converting the blue verification badge into a paid subscription feature.
Nonetheless, the company could have faced far higher financial penalties, with European authorities able under new legislation — known as the Digital Services Act — to fine offenders 6% of their worldwide annual revenue, which in this case could have included several other of Musk's companies, including SpaceX.
The fine announcement follows months of accusations from activists and trade experts that authorities in Brussels were deliberately easing up on enforcement to appease U.S. President Donald Trump. Musk was a prominent supporter of Trump's campaign and spent several months this past spring serving as an administration adviser and the public face of the Department of Government Efficiency initiative.
The willingness to take on Musk's business empire could serve as a critical test of the EU's determination, especially in light of Trump's previous threats of tariffs over the bloc's fines against U.S. technology giants.
The confrontation highlights a growing division over the concept of digital sovereignty, which has transformed long-standing allies into competitors as Europe strives to establish itself as the global authority for digital regulation, and the Trump administration pushes back against perceived curbs on U.S. companies' profits and freedom of expression.
So, experts warn, this direct punitive action against Musk's businesses carries the risk of U.S. retaliation, even though the EU remains heavily dependent on American technology for a range of sectors.
The Trump administration also has consistently argued that the EU unfairly targets U.S. technology companies with severe financial penalties and burdensome regulations, equating these measures to tariffs that justify trade retaliation. Just last week, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick stated that the EU must revise its digital regulations to secure a deal aimed at reducing steel and aluminum tariffs.
The Commission denied again Friday any connection between the trade negotiations with the U.S. and the implementation of its technology rulebooks, any targeting of American firms or any kind of infringement on freedom of expression.
"Our digital legislation has nothing to do with censorship," said Commission spokesperson Regnier. "We adopt the final decision, not targeting anyone, not targeting any company, not targeting any jurisdictions based on their color or their country of origin."
Despite the Trump administration's pressure, the EU has proceeded with the enforcement of its digital antitrust rules, recently imposing fines of $584 million on Apple Inc. and $233 million on Meta Platforms Inc.
It also has issued substantial penalties against other corporations, including over $8 billion total in fines against Alphabet Inc.'s Google over several years and a separate directive for Apple to repay €13 billion in back taxes to Ireland for providing unfair state aid.
