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Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has been fined €120 million (about $140 million) by European Union regulators for violating online content rules—marking the first major enforcement action under the bloc’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA).
According to Reuters, the ruling has sparked renewed criticism from the U.S. government.
X did not respond to emailed requests for comment, but Musk reacted sharply on the platform, replying “Bullshit” to an EU Commission post announcing the penalty.
He later reposted messages criticizing the decision, writing: “Freedom of speech is the bedrock of democracy. The only way to know what you are voting for.”
According to Reuters, Washington has repeatedly condemned Europe’s tougher stance on major technology firms.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump claims EU regulation disproportionately targets American companies and amounts to censorship of U.S. citizens.
The European Commission, however, rejected those accusations, insisting its digital rules apply equally to all companies regardless of nationality.
Officials said Europe is acting to safeguard its digital and democratic standards, which often set global precedents.
The fine against X follows a two-year investigation under the DSA, which compels large online platforms to take stronger measures to curb illegal and harmful content.
In a separate case, the EU charged ByteDance’s TikTok in May with failing to meet a DSA requirement to publish an advertising repository to help researchers and users detect scam ads.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said X’s penalty was proportionate, based on the nature and seriousness of the infringements, the number of affected users, and the duration of the violations.
“We are not here to impose the highest fines. We are here to make sure that our digital legislation is enforced. If you comply with our rules, you don’t get the fine. It’s as simple as that,” she told reporters.
Virkkunen stressed that the DSA was not designed to censor content.
“It is very important to underline that the DSA has nothing to do with censorship,” she said.
She added that upcoming decisions on other companies accused of DSA violations should move faster than the X case.
“I’m really expecting that we will do the final decisions now more quickly,” she said.
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