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Elon Musk and Trump administration officials delivered blistering criticism of the European Union after its executive branch issued a $140 million fine against his social media platform, X.
“The EU should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries, so that governments can better represent their people,” Musk wrote on X on Saturday, before adding, “AbolishTheEU.”
The European Commission said Friday it was fining X for “non-compliance with transparency obligations” under the Digital Services Act (DSA), adding that it was specifically “holding X accountable” for what the EU deems “deceptive” design of X’s “blue checkmark,” a “lack of transparency of its advertising repository,” and “failure to provide access to public data for researchers.” The commission posted the $140 million fine announcement on X.
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On Friday, in response to an X post from Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, calling the fine an “abomination” and saying that President Donald Trump should impose sanctions “until this travesty is reversed,” Musk replied, “The ‘EU’ imposed this crazy fine not just on X, but also on me personally, which is even more insane!”
“Therefore, it would seem appropriate to apply our response not just to the EU, but also to the individuals who took this action against me,” Musk wrote, calling the fine in another post “bulls—.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X that the fine “isn’t just an attack on X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.”
Before the fine was announced, Vice President JD Vance said, “The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.”
The EU adopted the DSA in 2022 to regulate online platforms such as social networks and to “prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation,” but the law has since faced opposition from the Trump administration amid its free speech promotion on the global stage.
Thomas Reigner, spokesperson for Tech Sovereignty, Defense, Space and Research at the commission, argued at a briefing on Friday that the fine was not related to content moderation.
“Today’s decision has nothing to do with content moderation,” Reigner said. “It’s about transparency provisions for citizens here in the European Union.”
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Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on X that, “The Digital Services Act is designed to stifle free speech and American tech companies,” and, “We have made our position clear to our counterparts in Europe.”
“Foreign bureaucrats have zero right to tell Americans what they can and can’t say,” added Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo.
“Once again, Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company,” said Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr. “Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize a continent held back by Europe’s own suffocating regulations.”
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said, “America is done looking the other way while foreign governments seek to censor our people and bully our companies.”
The European Commission further explained its reasoning in a press release.
“X’s use of the ‘blue checkmark’ for ‘verified accounts’ deceives users,” the commission said in statement. “On X, anyone can pay to obtain the ‘verified’ status without the company meaningfully verifying who is behind the account, making it difficult for users to judge the authenticity of accounts and content they engage with. This deception exposes users to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors.”
“X’s advertisement repository fails to meet the transparency and accessibility requirements of the DSA. Accessible and searchable ad repositories are critical for researchers and civil society to detect scams, hybrid threat campaigns, coordinated information operations and fake advertisements,” it also said.
FOX Business’ Emma Colton contributed to this report.
