Elon Musk. Credit: Photo Agency / Shutterstock.com
On Friday December 5, the European Union imposed a €120 million fine (approximately $140 million) on X, the social media company owned by Elon Musk and formerly known as Twitter, after ruling that the platform had violated the EU’s online content and transparency standards. The penalty marks the first-ever sanction issued under the bloc’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA), a move that is likely to provoke anger within the United States government.
Announcing the fine under its far-reaching DSA, the European Commission confirmed that X had failed to comply with several transparency obligations, including the alleged “misleading design” of its blue verification badge. TikTok, in contrast, avoided a penalty after offering concessions to regulators.
EU defends its crackdown on Big Tech
The EU’s crackdown on major tech platforms aims to ensure fairer competition for smaller rivals and greater choice for consumers. Washington, however, has repeatedly accused Brussels of unfairly targeting US companies and restricting Americans’ ability to share content online.
The European Commission, which serves as the executive arm of the EU, responded that its regulations do not single out any nationality and instead uphold digital and democratic standards that often become global benchmarks.
EU tech chief says the fine does not amount to censorship
The fine followed a two-year investigation into X under the DSA, which obliges online platforms to step up efforts to curb illegal and harmful content. A separate EU probe into TikTok earlier this year reached preliminary conclusions that the ByteDance-owned app had failed to meet DSA requirements to maintain a public, transparent advertising repository enabling researchers and users to identify fraudulent adverts.
EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen said the penalty issued to X was “modest but proportionate”, calculated according to the nature of the violations, the number of EU users affected and the length of time the platform remained non-compliant.
“We are not here to impose the highest possible fines. We are here to ensure that our digital legislation is applied, and if you comply with our rules, you will not receive a fine. It is as simple as that,” she said.
“It is important to underline that the DSA has nothing to do with censorship,” Virkkunen added. She said decisions on other companies accused of breaching the DSA should now be concluded more swiftly than the lengthy case against X. “I expect we will reach final decisions more quickly from now on,” she noted.
US officials say the EU should not target American firms
Meta and TikTok were both accused in October of failing to comply with the DSA’s transparency obligations, while Chinese e-commerce platform Temu was accused of violating rules designed to prevent the sale of illegal goods.
X did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Before the EU’s announcement, US Vice President JD Vance commented on X: “Rumours are that the European Commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not censoring. The EU should stand up for free speech, not attack American companies over rubbish content.”
TikTok, which pledged to overhaul its advertising library to increase transparency, urged regulators to enforce the DSA consistently and fairly across all platforms.
Commission outlines key violations
EU regulators said X’s violations included the misleading design of its blue tick for verified accounts, inadequate transparency in its advertising repository, and insufficient public data access for researchers.
The Commission confirmed that investigations into X’s handling of illegal content, its anti-manipulation measures, and the assessment of its design and algorithmic systems are continuing. A separate inquiry into whether TikTok meets EU child-protection requirements also remains open.
Under the DSA, financial penalties can reach up to 6% of a company’s global annual revenue, leaving open the possibility of significantly larger fines in the future.
