EU Slaps Elon Musk’s X With $140 Million Fine Over Content Rules

‘The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,’ Vice President JD Vance said ahead of the decision.

The logo of online social media and social networking service X on a smartphone screen. Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

The European Commission fined billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s X social media company 120 million euros ($140 million) on Dec. 5 following a two-year investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The commission stated that X breached several transparency obligations, including the “deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark,' the lack of transparency of its advertising repository, and the failure to provide access to public data for researchers.”