The European Union hit Elon Musk’s X with a €120 million (US$140 million) fine on Friday for breaking its digital rules, in a move that risks a fresh clash with US President Donald Trump’s administration.
The high-profile probe into the social media platform was seen as a test of the EU’s resolve to police Big Tech. US Vice-President J.D. Vance fired a warning against “attacking” US firms through “censorship” before the penalty was even made public.
Imposing the first fine under its powerful Digital Services Act (DSA) on content, the European Commission said X was guilty of non-compliance with transparency rules including through the “deceptive design” of its blue checkmark for “verified” accounts.
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“This decision is about the transparency of X” and “nothing to do with censorship”, the bloc’s technology commissioner Henna Virkkunen told reporters as it was announced – pushing back at Vance’s charge.
The US vice-president warned the EU pre-emptively on Thursday that it “should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage” – in an X post to which Musk replied: “Much appreciated.”
Musk’s platform was targeted by the EU’s first formal DSA investigation in December 2023 – and was found to have breached its rules on several counts in July 2024.