Shafaq News – Brussels
On Friday, the European Commission, the executive branch of the EuropeanUnion, fined Elon Musk’s social media platform X roughly $140 million forviolating the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
According to international outlets, the case stemming from a two-yearinvestigation launched in December 2023 marks the first penalty ever issuedunder the landmark online-platform law. The probe concluded that:
- X’s redesigned blue-check system — once a free verification badge forofficial accounts but now a paid feature open to any user — no longerguarantees authenticity and can be purchased by bots, a “deceptive design” theCommission said exposes users to scams and manipulation. The fine for thisviolation is about $52.5 million.
- X breached advertising-transparency requirements by “blurring thedistinction” between ads and regular content, increasing the risk of financialscams. The platform also failed to provide an updated registry of advertisers,a gap the Commission warned is especially dangerous during elections when theorigin of political messaging must be identifiable. This violation carries afine of roughly $40.8 million.
- X refused to provide researchers with required data on views andlikes, an obligation under the DSA meant to allow the study of systemic onlinerisks. This breach amounts to nearly $46.6 million in fines.
Despite the scale of the penalty, it remains well below the DSA’smaximum fine of 6 percent of a company’s global turnover. Apple was fined $583million and Meta $233 million in April 2025 under EU digital-competition rules,while Google has accumulated more than $8 billion in antitrust penalties.
US Vice President JD Vance criticized the Commission ahead of theannouncement, accusing Brussels of promoting censorship and attacking Americancompanies.
Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.
— JD Vance (@JDVance) December 4, 2025Two additional DSA investigations into X reportedly remain ongoing. Oneconcerns the platform’s handling of illegal content, user-reporting tools, andits speed in removing flagged material, while the other examines X’srecommendation algorithms, particularly in relation to terrorist content andelection-period influence operations.
X owner Elon Musk has not directly commented on the fine, but hereposted a statement by lawyer Preston Byrne urging the US Congress to pass theGRANITE Act, legislation that would let American companies challenge “foreigncensorship attempts” — enabling X to sue the Commission in return.
The GRANITE Act would allow X to sue the European Commission in U.S. federal court for three times this amount, and get injunctive relief against the Commission's orders.Congress should enact it ASAP to head off this European censorship attempt. t.co/V9evaPhEME
— Preston Byrne (@prestonjbyrne) December 4, 2025Hence then, the article about eu slaps 140m penalty on elon musk s x was published today ( ) and is available on SHAFAQ NEWS ( Iraq ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
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