The European Union on Friday imposed a 120-million-euro ($140 million) fine on Elon Musk’s social media platform X for violating the bloc’s digital regulations, setting the stage for what could become a new flashpoint with the administration of US President Donald Trump.
The action follows a high-profile investigation viewed as a major test of the EU’s determination to rein in Big Tech under its sweeping Digital Services Act (DSA).
According to AFP, even before the penalty was announced, US Vice President JD Vance warned Brussels against “attacking” American companies through “censorship,” signalling potential transatlantic tensions.
In issuing its first DSA-related fine over content matters, the European Commission said X failed to comply with transparency requirements and used “deceptive design” in its blue checkmark system for “verified” accounts.
“This decision is about the transparency of X” and “nothing to do with censorship,” AFP quoted the bloc’s technology commissioner Henna Virkkunen as saying, pushing back at Vance’s charge.
Vance had pre-emptively criticised the EU on Thursday, posting on X that Brussels “should be supporting free speech, not attacking American companies over garbage.” Musk responded to the message, writing, “Much appreciated.”
X became the subject of the EU’s first formal DSA investigation in December 2023 and was found to have violated multiple provisions by July 2024.
According to the EU’s findings, Musk’s overhaul of the platform’s checkmark system in 2022 allowed “anyone to pay” for a badge of authenticity, without X “meaningfully verifying who is behind the account.”
“This deception exposes users to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors,” AFP quoted the commission as saying in a statement.
The commission also concluded that X did not provide adequate transparency regarding its advertising practices and failed to grant researchers access to public data as required under the DSA.
The platform remains under investigation for its handling of illegal content and potential information manipulation.
Europe’s moves from ‘words to action’
Part one of the EU’s probe into X had appeared stalled for months, with no movement toward a penalty.
Officials were acutely aware that the political landscape in Washington had changed dramatically since 2023, with Donald Trump back in the White House and Elon Musk once again influential in US political circles.
Any fine on X risked escalating tensions with the Trump administration.
That tension surfaced early, with Vance attacking the EU even before the decision was announced, citing “rumours” that Brussels planned to fine X “for not engaging in censorship.”
Under the DSA, the EU can levy fines of up to six per cent of a company’s global annual revenue — and in X’s case, the bloc could have drawn from Musk’s wider business empire, including Tesla.
Instead, Brussels opted for what officials described as a measured penalty.
Tech chief Elisa Ferreira said the amount was “proportionate” to the violations.
“We are not here to impose the highest fines. We are here to make sure that our digital legislation is enforced,” Ferreira told AFP. “If you comply with our rules, you don’t get a fine — and it’s as simple as that.”
She noted the decision covers only one part of a “very broad investigation” into X, which remains ongoing.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate said the ruling “sends a message that no tech platform is above the laws all corporations have to abide by.”
Washington, however, has repeatedly criticised EU tech regulations.
US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently urged Brussels to reconsider its approach if it wanted lower steel duties, while a new national security strategy released Friday by the Trump administration called on Europe to “abandon its failed focus on regulatory suffocation.”
European governments defended the move.
France’s digital affairs minister Anne Le Henanff called it a “historic” step that shows Europe can “move from words to action,” while Germany’s digital minister Karsten Wildberger said EU digital rules “apply to everyone, no matter where they come from.”
In a parallel development, the European Commission said it had accepted commitments from TikTok to address concerns about its advertising practices, though the platform remains under DSA investigation on other fronts.
With inputs from agencies
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