According to Fortune, the European Commission has fined Elon Musk’s X a whopping $140 million for breaching the European Union’s Digital Services Act. This decision, announced on Friday, is the first-ever “non-compliance” ruling since the sweeping DSA rulebook came into force. The investigation, opened two years ago, found X violated transparency rules in three key areas: its blue checkmark verification system, its advertising database, and its data access for researchers. U.S. politicians like Marco Rubio and JD Vance immediately criticized the fine as an attack on American tech and free speech. Meanwhile, the EU wrapped up a separate case with TikTok, which promised changes to its ad database.
The core complaints
So what did X actually do wrong? The EU’s case boils down to three things. First, and this is the big one everyone’s talking about, the blue checkmarks. The Commission says selling verification for $8 a month, without actually verifying identity, is a “deceptive design practice.” Basically, it makes it impossible for users to know who’s really behind an account, opening the door to scams. Second, X’s ad library is a mess—it has “excessive delays” and design flaws that make it useless for tracking who’s paying for ads and who they’re targeting. Third, they’re putting up “unnecessary barriers” for researchers trying to study the platform. Look, the DSA’s whole point is to force platforms to be transparent about their inner workings. X seems to have failed on all three counts.
The political firestorm
Here’s the thing: this fine was never going to be just about the rules. It was instantly a political flashpoint. Marco Rubio called it an “attack on all American tech platforms and the American people,” and Musk agreed. JD Vance accused the EU of wanting to fine X “for not engaging in censorship.” The EU’s response? They insist it’s not about targeting American companies, but about applying a “democratic process.” But let’s be real—the DSA, and its sibling the Digital Markets Act, are squarely aimed at the biggest platforms, which are overwhelmingly American. This fine is a massive shot across the bow. It tells every other big tech company that the EU is serious about enforcement and that the days of self-regulation are truly over.
Musk’s X at a crossroads
For X, this is a major headache. $140 million isn’t going to break the bank, but it’s a huge reputational hit and sets a dangerous precedent. The platform’s entire business model under Musk has been chaotic—ditching traditional verification, firing trust and safety teams, and betting the farm on subscription revenue. This ruling directly attacks that model. If you can’t sell blue checks as a status symbol in the EU, that’s a revenue stream undermined. More importantly, it forces X to fundamentally rebuild its ad transparency tools and research access, which costs money and engineering time. The company didn’t even comment on the ruling. You have to wonder, is this the cost of doing business for Musk’s vision of a “free speech” platform, or a sign that the vision itself is incompatible with the world’s largest markets?
What happens next
This isn’t the end. It’s the beginning of a new, more aggressive phase of EU tech regulation. The Commission’s statement is a clear warning to others. They simultaneously closed the case on TikTok after it promised to fix its ad database, showing they’re willing to work with companies that cooperate. But for those that don’t? The fines will keep coming. We’ve already seen the EU take on Google over antitrust, and now this. Every major platform is now on notice. The bigger question is whether this fuels a wider transatlantic trade war over tech sovereignty. With the U.S. election looming and rhetoric heating up, this $140 million fine might just be the first skirmish in a much bigger battle.
