The European Union has imposed a €120m fine on Elon Musk’s platform X for violating the bloc’s digital rulebook, marking the first punishment issued under the Digital Services Act and heightening tensions with Washington. According to the EU Commission, X breached transparency standards through the “deceptive design” of its blue checkmark system and by failing to provide clear information on advertising and researcher access to public data.
“This decision is about the transparency of X,” said the EU’s tech chief, Henna Virkkunen, who stressed that the penalty had “nothing to do with censorship.” She dismissed criticism from US vice president JD Vance, who earlier warned the EU against “attacking American companies over garbage.” Musk responded to Vance’s remarks with, “Much appreciated.”
The DSA investigation into X began in December 2023. Regulators said their findings showed the platform failed to carry out meaningful identity verification after Musk restructured the verification program, allowing “anyone to pay” for a blue badge. The changes exposed users to impersonation, fraud and manipulation, the commission said.
X was also found to have fallen short of DSA requirements on transparency for political and commercial advertising, and it did not provide researchers with the mandated access to public data. Other elements of the probe— including issues related to illegal content and information manipulation— remain open.
The case had appeared to slow amid political concerns about a backlash from Washington, especially after Donald Trump returned to the White House and Musk regained influence there. Still, Brussels pressed on, with Virkkunen calling the fine “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,” she said.
Under the DSA, companies can be fined up to six percent of their global annual revenue. Regulators could have calculated the penalty using Musk’s broader business empire, including Tesla, but chose what is viewed as a moderate amount.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate praised the move, saying it proved that “no tech platform is above the laws all corporations have to abide by.” France’s digital affairs minister Anne Le Henanff described the decision as “historic,” noting that it showed Europe is “capable of moving from words to action.”
The White House, meanwhile, has repeatedly criticised the EU’s regulatory stance. US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick recently urged Brussels to reconsider its digital rules if it expects progress in talks on reducing steel tariffs. A new national security strategy released Friday by the Trump administration told Europe to “abandon its failed focus on regulatory suffocation.”
In a related update, the EU said it had accepted commitments from TikTok to improve advertising transparency, though the platform remains under DSA investigation for other concerns. EU officials insisted that US political pressure played no role in the X decision, emphasising that their priority was building a strong legal foundation for enforcement.
