(LifeSiteNews) — The European Commission (EC) has imposed a €120 million ($140 million) fine on Elon Musk’s X over an apparent “breach of transparency.”
The EC said that X breached its transparency obligation under the EU’s controversial Digital Services Act (DSA). It argued that the use of the platform’s blue checkmark is “deceptive,” since anyone who pays for it can acquire it without a verification process.
The commission also said X’s advertising library is not transparent and did not provide public data for research, as required by the DSA.
The decision will likely deepen the divide between the EU and the Trump administration. The latter has repeatedly called on the EU to ease its rules on U.S.-based social media platforms such as X in trade talks.
Shortly before the European Commission announced the fine, Vice President JD Vance wrote on X, “Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.”
Musk responded to Vance, saying, “Much appreciated.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote on X, “The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments. The days of censoring Americans online are over.”
When asked about Vance’s criticism of the DSA, the European Commission’s Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty Henna Virkkunen told reporters: “The DSA is having not to do with censorship (sic), this decision is about the transparency of X.”
“On this subject, we have agreed to disagree with the way that some people in the U.S. look at our legislation. It’s not about censorship, and we have repeated several times from this podium, so on this we really agree to disagree on how it is perceived,” commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said in a daily press briefing.
The fine concludes only part of the EU’s investigation into X, which began almost two years ago. Probes into X’s measures to counter the distribution of illegal content and alleged manipulated information are ongoing.
X now has 60 working days to provide the commission with specific measures to change its blue checkmarks system in order to end the infringement of Article 25 (1) of the DSA. The company has 90 working days to submit an action plan to address the issues regarding access to public data for researchers and the advertising repository. If it fails to comply, the EU may impose periodic fines on X.
However, it is possible that the Trump administration will take legal, diplomatic, and economic steps to put pressure on the EU to reverse its decision.