X founder Elon Musk is going to war with the European Union (EU), and for good reason. The EU has slapped the social media company with a massive fine for breaching one of its two sweeping tech laws aimed at American companies.
Musk, ever the fighter, will not bow to the EU’s pressure but vowed to take on the governing body, even calling for its abolition. He noted on X, “I love Europe, but not the bureaucratic monster that is the EU.”
Keep watching; this may be just the first battle that the EU faces as the United States government and other American companies join the fray.
What Happened?
On Friday, December 4, 2025, EU regulators fined X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter and owned by Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk, 120 million euros ($140 million) for breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA). This follows a two-year investigation stemming from coverage on the platform of the October 7th, 2023, attack by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza.
The EU faulted X for three core violations: its blue checkmark system for verified accounts that they claim “deceives users,” a lack of transparency over its advertising repository, and blocking researchers’ access to public data. European Digital Commissioner Henna Virkkunen explained when announcing the decision:
The DSA protects users. The DSA gives researchers the way to uncover potential threats. With the DSA’s first non-compliance decision, we are holding X responsible for undermining users’ rights and evading accountability.
EU officials claimed that the platform’s design choices “undermined accountability, obscured risks, and exposed users to manipulation and fraud.”
For background on the fine, Tech Press explained previously:
Following the Hamas attack in Israel in October 2023, the European Commission sent X a request for information under the DSA regarding “the alleged spreading of illegal content and disinformation, in particular the spreading of terrorist and violent content and hate speech.
X was first asked to give the Commission information on how its crisis response protocol was activated and worked, as well as its policies and actions on illegal content notices, complaint handling, risk assessment, and steps taken to mitigate the risks identified.
On December 18, 2023, the Commission opened formal proceedings to assess whether X may have breached the DSA in areas linked to the dissemination of illegal content, the effectiveness of the measures taken to combat information manipulation (for which the investigation continues, dark patterns, advertising transparency, and data access for researchers.
Last year, preliminary findings indicated that X was in breach of the DSA in areas concerning dark patterns, advertising transparency, and data access for researchers. This conclusion was based on an in-depth investigation that included analyzing internal company documents, interviewing experts, and collaborating with national Digital Services Coordinators.
The U.S. Responds
Trump administration officials did not hold back against the EU’s actions toward X.
President Trump told reporters that “Europe is going in some bad directions.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X:
Vice President J.D. Vance stated:
To which Elon Musk replied, “Much appreciated.”
This did not go over well with Virkkunen, who told reporters, “The DSA is having not to do with censorship, this decision is about the transparency of X.”
Earlier this year, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr criticized the DSA over its anti-free speech approach and vowed to protect U.S. interests.
There is some concern that I have with respect to the approach that Europe has taken with the DSA in particular. There’s a risk that that regulatory regime imposes excessive rules with respect to free speech.
…
The censorship that is potentially coming down the pipe from the DSA is something that is incompatible with both our free speech tradition in America and the commitments that these technology companies have made in the diversity of opinions.
We can expect the U.S. to use its leverage to push back against the DSA and other EU regulations, such as the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which targets large tech companies—primarily American companies such as Apple, Google, and Amazon—for added regulation and scrutiny. We’ve written about the DMA here and here.
Why It Matters
This case is important for several reasons. First, this is the first time that the EU has found a company in breach of the DSA. This is the first of at least 14 such investigations that led to enforcement. The EU issued findings in half a dozen cases but issued no penalties, and other companies have appealed their decisions or avoided sanctions by making new commitments to meet the DSA requirements.
Second, the EU’s blatant attempt at censorship is on display. Targeting the leading social media platform to restore free speech within online public discourse for discipline is a way of appeasing leftists globally who believe in censoring unpopular and unfavorable viewpoints. This is the point of the DSA. In law, it demands that companies make reasonable efforts to curtail what it considers risky speech, but EU regulators determine what speech is acceptable or not, and they are intolerant of opposing viewpoints. Companies are “incentivized to overmoderate and overremove speech for fear of being punished,” as Cato scholars note.
As a society, we have come far from the depths of dark times when online speech was harshly censored, such as during the COVID-19 epidemic. A U.S. administration pushed social media platforms to silence differing and opposing viewpoints on the virus, treatments, and public policies. That was just one episode. Thankfully, we’ve exposed the pressure campaigns by federal government agencies and unwound heavy-handed speech regulations, only to have them tighten overseas.
Regulations like the DSA and DMA hamper U.S. companies by increasing compliance and regulatory costs. It makes developing new products and services more difficult and leaves consumers worse even, even if the laws are meant to only impact EU customers.
We look forward to the fight that Elon Musk, X, President Trump, and his administration mount against the EU’s blatantly biased and ideological tech laws.