X (nee Twitter) has become the first company to be fined under the European Union’s Digital Service Act (DSA). The European Commission announced that X will be fined €120 million (about $140 million) and could face “periodic penalty payments” if the Elon Musk-owned platform fails to comply with the DSA.
The fine stems from what the EU considers three violations: deceptive design around the ‘blue checkmark', failure to provide public data to researchers, and a lack of transparency and accessibility of its ad repository.
X advertises the blue checkmarks as the only way to verify an account. However, the commission, which began investigating X in 2023, found that the new verified status isn’t actually “verified” by the company, making it “difficult for users to judge the authenticity of accounts and content they engage with.”
X infringements
The commission calls the checkmark deceptive and says that it exposes users to scams and manipulation by bad actors. The DSA does not mandate user verification but according to the commission, it does prohibit false claims of veracity.
Similarly, a lack of access to X’s ad repository means the researchers and users aren’t able to detect scams, fake ads, threat campaigns or “coordinated information operations.” The commission blamed the design of X and access barriers that delay information processing or lack critical information like who is paying for an advertisement or the content and topic of an ad.
Finally, the DSA accused X of failing to provide researchers with access to the service’s public data.
X has 60 to 90 days to inform the Commission on how it will address these infringements and submit an action plan. Failure to comply will induce penalty payments.
What is the DSA?
Signed into law in 2022, the Digital Services Act is an attempt by the EU to modernize its legal framework surrounding digital platforms like social media networks, online marketplaces, app stores and search engines.
The EU information site about the Act says it aims to “create a safer digital space where the fundamental rights of users are protected and to establish a level playing field for businesses.”
Since 2023, the list of platforms required to maintain compliance with the DSA has included a number of major “very large online platforms”(VLOPs) including X. Other notable VLOPs include Amazon, the Apple AppStore, Google Maps, Google Search and YouTube.
Elon Musk accuses the EU of censorship
Elon Musk has not released an “official” statement but he did respond “Bullshit” underneath a European Commission X post about the fine. He followed that up by reposting several messages criticizing the decision and wrote, “Freedom of speech is the bedrock democracy. The only way to know what you are voting for."
Musk has spent much of the day tweeting about freedom of speech and the decline of European civilization or reposting similar critiques, including ones that imply the EU wanted X to censor speech or face fines.
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance got in on the action today as well.
“Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship,” Vance wrote on X. “The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.”
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.December 4, 2025
Similar statements were shared by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
Vance and President Trump have previously criticized the EU’s stricter regulations on big tech companies as a way for the continent to censor Americans, Reuters noted.
The European Commission’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen has pushed back against the censorship narrative saying that the fine was proportionate and calculated based on the nature and gravity of the infringements.
"We are not here to impose the highest fines. We are here to make sure that our digital legislation is enforced and if you comply with our rules, you don't get the fine. And it's as simple as that," she told Reuters and other reporters.
"I think it's very important to underline that DSA is having nothing to do with censorship," Virkkunen said.
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