The European Union has fined Elon Musk’s X, formerly Twitter, $140 million for multiple violations of regulations governing large digital platforms. The penalties target X’s holding company and stem from the platform’s misleading use of the blue verification check mark, a poorly maintained advertising repository, and inadequate data access for researchers, according to a European Commission spokesperson.
The EU emphasized that it prefers cooperation over fines, citing TikTok as an example of a company avoiding penalties through concessions. The investigation into X, which serves over 100 million EU users, began more than two years ago and formally accused the platform of violating transparency rules, restricting researcher access to data, and turning the verification badge into a paid feature. Musk has indicated he plans to challenge the sanctions legally rather than comply. While the $140 million fine is significant, EU law allows penalties of up to 6% of global annual revenue, potentially encompassing other Musk ventures, including SpaceX.
The move comes amid heightened tensions between the EU and the U.S., as the Trump administration has criticized European digital regulations as unfair to American tech companies and likened them to tariffs. Experts note that the EU’s enforcement of digital rules, including recent fines against Apple, Meta, and Google, underscores its push for digital sovereignty, even as it risks U.S. retaliation. The EU maintains that its actions are regulatory, not politically motivated, and unrelated to censorship or trade negotiations. Meanwhile, additional investigations into X’s handling of illegal content, election misinformation, and Community Notes have yet to reach preliminary conclusions.