The European Union’s technology regulator has imposed a fine of 120 million euros (approximately 140 million US dollars) on Elon Musk’s social media company X on Friday, December 5, for violating the EU’s online content rules. This decision by the EU has sparked criticism from the Federal Communications Commission in the United States.
This marks the first penalty since the implementation of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to take more actions against illegal and harmful content.
According to the announcement released by the European Commission on Friday, the reason behind the 120 million euro fine on X was the company’s failure to comply with the transparency obligations outlined in the DSA. The Commission stated that X’s “blue checkmark” verification was deceptive, the advertising database lacked transparency, and the platform failed to provide public data access to researchers as required by the DSA.
This fine signifies only a partial conclusion of the EU’s investigation into X. The investigation was launched nearly two years ago, marking the first inquiry under the DSA. Other significant investigations into X regarding combating the spread of illegal content and fighting misinformation are still ongoing.
While the amount of this fine is not particularly high compared to previous penalties imposed by the EU on tech companies, it has still triggered dissatisfaction from the United States. Brendan Carr, Chairman of the FCC, expressed disapproval stating, “Once again, Europe is penalizing a successful American tech company, simply because it’s a successful American tech company.” Carr added, “Europe is taxing Americans to prop up a continent weighed down by its own suffocating regulatory regime.”
Elon Musk, the billionaire owner of X, reposted Carr’s response to the EU fine on the X platform.
The Trump administration had previously criticized the EU’s Digital Services Act, equating it to a censorship regime, and warned of retaliatory trade tariffs.
According to the announcement from the European Commission, X has 60 working days to submit specific measures they intend to take to stop the violations of Article 25(1) of the DSA (related to issues with the use of the blue checkmark verification).
Additionally, X has 90 working days to submit an action plan to the European Commission, detailing the necessary measures to address the violations of Articles 39 and 40(12) of the DSA (related to the advertising database and researchers’ access to public data). The EU Digital Services Commission will provide feedback within one month of receiving X’s action plan. The European Commission will then spend a month making the final decision and setting a reasonable deadline for compliance.
The EU emphasized that non-compliance with the infringement decision may result in periodic fines. The European Commission will continue communication with X to ensure compliance with the decision and the overall provisions of the DSA.