Elon Musk’s social media company
Musk responded ‘Bullshit’ in a European Commission post about the fine. He also reposted several messages criticizing the decision and wrote: ‘Freedom of expression is the foundation of democracy. The only way to know what you’re voting for.’
Europe’s crackdown on big technology companies to ensure smaller rivals can compete and consumers have more choice has been criticized by US President Donald Trump’s administration, which says the move excludes US companies and censors the country’s population.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, said its laws do not target any nationality and that it is merely defending the bloc’s digital and democratic standards, which generally serve as a benchmark for the rest of the world.
Fine is not censorship
The EU’s sanction against X was the result of a two-year investigation under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to do more to combat illegal and harmful content.
The EU’s investigation into Chinese ByteDance’s social media app TikTok led to accusations in May that the company had violated a DSA requirement to publish an ad repository that would allow researchers and users to detect fraudulent advertisements.
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European Commission technology chief Henna Virkkunen said the fine against Musk’s social network was proportionate and calculated based on the nature of the infringements, severity in terms of EU users affected and duration of the infringements.
‘We are not here to impose higher fines. We are here to ensure that our digital legislation is enforced and if you comply with our rules, you will not receive a fine. It’s as simple as that,’ she told reporters.
“I think it’s very important to point out that the DSA has nothing to do with censorship,” Virkkunen said.
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US vice president criticizes
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and US Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr criticized the fine imposed by the EU.
‘The European Commission’s $140 million fine is not just an attack on @X, it is an attack on all North American technology platforms and the American people by foreign governments. The days of censoring Americans online are over,’ Rubio published in X.
Before the EU’s decision, US Vice President JD Vance said of X: ‘Rumor has it that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting freedom of speech and not attacking US companies over rubbish.’
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TikTok, which has promised changes to its ad library to be more transparent, has called on regulators to apply the law equally and consistently across all platforms.
EU regulators said X’s DSA violations include the misleading design of its blue checkmark for verified accounts, a lack of ad bank transparency, and failure to provide researchers with access to public data.
The Commission said the investigation into the spread of illegal content on X and the measures taken to combat information manipulation and a separate investigation into TikTok’s design, algorithmic systems and obligation to protect children continue.
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DSA fines can be up to 6% of a company’s annual global revenue.
