European Commission Fines X $140M, Alleging Digital Services Act Violations

The European Commission fined social platform X 120 million euros (about $140 million), saying it breached the Digital Services Act’s transparency rules, according to a Friday (Dec. 5) press release.

X must also inform the commission of measures the company plans to take to address the infringements and may face periodic penalty payments if it fails to comply, the release said.

This is the first non-compliance decision made under the DSA, per the release.

X violated the DSA’s prohibition against deceptive design practices by selling a blue checkmark signifying users’ verified status without verifying who is behind an account; violated the DSA’s transparency and accessibility requirements by hindering the use of its ads repository by researchers who want to detect scams and other threats; and violated the DSA’s requirement to provide researchers with access to the platform’s public data by imposing “unnecessary barriers,” according to the release.

“Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU,” Henna Virkkunen, executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said in the release. “The DSA protects users. The DSA gives researchers the way to uncover potential threats. The DSA restores trust in the online environment. With the DSA’s first non-compliance decision, we are holding X responsible for undermining users’ rights and evading accountability.”

Ahead of the European Commission’s announcement, X owner Elon Musk reposted a Thursday (Dec. 4) post by U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who wrote on X: “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.”

Musk commented, “Much appreciated.”

Much appreciated https://t.co/43NaOBmlQv

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 5, 2025

On Friday, Musk reposted several posts made by others on X.

Among them was one by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who wrote: “The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on [X], it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments. The days of censoring Americans online are over.”

Musk commented in his repost, “Absolutely.”

Absolutely https://t.co/YsmMgoIa23

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 5, 2025

Another example was a post by Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney, who wrote: “After prior Twitter leadership treated verification as a perk nominally reserved for ‘the elite’ […] but in practice handed out by Twitter employees to friends and cronies, Elon opened it up to everyone for a reasonable price. This was a good thing.”

Musk commented in his repost: “Indeed, the goal was to democratize verification, rather than have it be controlled by a group of biased elites!”

Indeed, the goal was to democratize verification, rather than have it be controlled by a group of biased elites! https://t.co/CG2Hm4wTTe

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 5, 2025