Elon Musk’s company X fined $140 million by European Union, US retorts; Here is the whole matter

European Union Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen said, "This decision is related to X's transparency. There is no question of censorship."

New Delhi: The European Union, on Saturday, 06 December 2025, imposed a huge fine on Elon Musk’s company X. This fine is approximately 120 million euros, or about 140 million dollars. If converted into Indian rupees, it amounts to approximately 12.59 thousand crore rupees. This is the first time the European Union has used its new law, the Digital Services Act (DSA), to penalize a company.

X’s Blue Tick Is the Reason

In 2022, Elon Musk bought Twitter. After that, he made major changes to the platform. The biggest was the blue checkmark system. Earlier, this checkmark was only given to famous and authentic people, but Musk said that now anyone can get this badge by paying money. The European Union did not like this.

In 2023, the European Union said, “This is deception. People will think that an account with a blue check is authentic, but in reality, any fake person can get it by paying money. This increases the risk of users falling into the trap of scams, fake accounts, and malicious actors.”

In addition, X did not provide complete information about advertisements and did not allow researchers access to public data. The European Union considered this a violation of transparency rules and launched an investigation. But more than a year passed, and the investigation seemed stalled. Finally, on December 6, 2025, the European Union cracked down and imposed the fine.

Trump Administration’s Intervention Causes Major Uproar

The US did not tolerate this at all. The US government said, “This is an attack on our companies. We will not remain silent.” US Vice President JD Vance posted on X: “Brussels (the headquarters of the European Union), don’t attack our companies under the guise of censorship. The European Union should support open dialogue, not harm American companies under the pretext of nonsense.”

‘Foreign Governments Attacking Americans’

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio adopted an even harsher tone. He said, “This $140 million fine is not just an attack on X, but an attack by foreign governments on all American tech companies and the American people. The days of censoring Americans online are over.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr wrote, “Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize its own backward continent with its draconian regulations. X is being targeted because it is a successful American tech company.”

European Union Clarifies

European Union Technology Commissioner Henna Virkkunen clarified, “This decision is related to X’s transparency. There is no question of censorship.” The European Union wrote in its report, “This deception traps users in scams, fraudulent schemes by fake individuals, and the traps of malicious actors.”