EU Slaps £105M Fine On X – Elon Musk's Company Responds Brutally

The European Commission has slapped a fine of €120 million, which is roughly about £105 million, on X, formerly known as Twitter, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk.

The penalty is the bloc's first enforcement action under the landmark Digital Services Act (DSA), underscoring the EU's resolve to hold Big Tech accountable for transparency and design practices.

Why the EU Fined X

This very divisive decision comes after a two-year investigation, which concluded that X's handling of its 'blue checkmark' verification, advertising transparency and data access obligations fell short of what the law demands. Moreover, the imposition of the fine has drawn a brutal response from Musk and other American politicians. It has sparked a war of words over regulation, free speech, and corporate responsibility in the digital age.

The main point, as per the sources of the Commission's case, was the change to X's blue checkmark system. Because under the platform's previous incarnation as Twitter, a blue tick was reserved for public figures, journalists and other verified accounts, a symbol that indicated authenticity back then. However, after Musk's takeover, X altered the system so that anyone willing to pay a monthly subscription could obtain the blue mark regardless of their identity or public profile.

So, the Commission branded this shift a 'deceptive design' and argued that this change damaged users' ability to judge whether a given account was genuine or merely paid for visibility, potentially exposing them to impersonation, scams, or misinformation.

But even beyond the blue tick issue, X was cited for two additional breaches of the DSA. First, it reportedly failed to provide a transparent advertising repository. Under EU rules, platforms must maintain a public register of advertisers so that users and authorities can see who is behind ads, which is crucial around elections or for financially sensitive content. X's failure in this regard damages accountability, the Commission reportedly argued.

Second, X did not grant researchers mandated access to public data such as views, likes or engagement statistics.

The fine was hence broken down as €45 million for the deceptive blue checks, €35 million for ad transparency failures, and €40 million for refusal to give researchers data access.

Now, although this fine seems enormous, the penalty is far below the maximum the DSA allows, which, according to a report by The Guardian, is up to 6% of global annual turnover, which in X's case could amount to hundreds of millions of pounds in extreme scenarios.

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Musk's Reaction and The Fallout

Obviously, the imposition of the fine got a furious reaction from Elon Musk. He dismissed the decision as 'bulls***' and publicly called for the abolition of the European Union, urging a return to national sovereignty rather than supranational regulation. His official tweets are here:

The United States' response was also relatively quick. Several high-profile US officials, including members of the current administration, according to sources, condemned the fine as an attack on American tech firms and free speech.

However, EU regulators defended the move, insisting the fine was not about censoring content but about enforcing transparency and protecting users from manipulation and scams. They argued that deceptive design practices, hidden advertising sources and restricted data access damage democratic accountability and public safety online.

In the near term, X must submit a plan within 60 days on how it intends to correct the 'deceptive' blue-check practices, and within 90 days for compliance with ad transparency and data access requirements. Failure to meet those deadlines could likely lead to further penalties or enforcement measures, but the EU has not yet confirmed this.