EU slaps €120 million fine on Elon Musk’s X for breaking digital services rules

The European Commission has imposed a €120 million fine on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, marking the first penalty issued under the EU’s landmark Digital Services Act (DSA) after a two-year investigation.

The fine targets two main issues. Firstly, the platform’s blue checkmark system, which previously verified official accounts for free, is now sold for €7 per month and risks misleading users about account authenticity. The Commission highlighted that under the new system, a verified account may no longer indicate a real person and could instead belong to a bot.

Secondly, X was found to violate transparency requirements for social media advertising. The platform does not provide an updated register of advertisers, making it difficult for users and authorities to track ad origins—a concern particularly relevant during election campaigns. Moreover, X has not explained why certain advertisements target specific users.

The Commission also criticised the platform for failing to provide researchers with access to data on views and likes, a requirement under the DSA.

The €120 million fine reflects proportionality according to EU officials, broken down as €45 million for the blue checkmark violation, €40 million for denying researchers access to data, and €35 million for the missing advertising register. While significant, the penalty remains well below the DSA’s maximum of 6% of X’s global turnover. By comparison, previous EU fines under Big Tech antitrust law reached €500 million for Apple and €200 million for Meta.

The Commission’s two-year investigation, intended to build a robust legal case in anticipation of X contesting the findings, has been criticised by some governments and former Commissioner Thierry Breton for the delay.

Ahead of the official announcement, US Vice President JD Vance criticised the decision on X, arguing that the EU should support free speech instead of penalising American companies. Vance has previously called the European Commissioners “EU commissars,” likening them to Soviet political police.

Two additional EU investigations into X remain ongoing. One examines how the platform handles illegal content, user flagging, and removal efficiency, while the other reviews its recommendation algorithms, particularly regarding terrorism, radicalisation, and election campaigns.

On the same day, the Commission acknowledged TikTok’s commitment to improving its advertising transparency system. The Chinese video platform has been under investigation since earlier this year and pledged enhancements to its ad repository processes.

By Tamilla Hasanova