Tensions boil over in wake of EU landmark €120m fine against X

The EU Commission responded on Monday (8 December) to the intense backlash over the weekend to its decision to fine X for breaching the Digital Services Act (DSA) — which saw Elon Musk questioning EU democracy and the US government calling it an attack on the American people.

On Friday (5 December), the commission fined X €120m for violating the DSA, in the first non-compliance decision under the legislation, finding the platform does not follow deceptive design and transparency requirements under the law. 

“X will have to pay that fine. The €120m will have to be paid. We will make sure that we get this money,” said an EU spokesperson at the midday briefing on Monday.

Currently there’s a conflict between the EU's attempts to regulate US Big Tech, where there are multiple pending infringement cases against their tech companies, and the platforms and US government regarding the regulation as an attack from the bloc.

Reactions to the fine from across the Atlantic were extremely hostile.

Musk, partial owner of xAI, parent company to X, responded by calling the fine “bullshit,” while repeatedly disparaging the bloc on his timeline and even reposting an image that associates the EU with Nazi Germany.

The platform also terminated the commission's advertising account on X for allegedly exploiting the platform through the post announcing the fine.

The commission spokesperson explained the Brussels-executive has not used the X’s paid advertising service since 2023. 

The US administration did not react kindly to the decision either. 

Secretary of state Marco Rubio posted: “The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.”  

In response, the commission spokesperson said it was not a direct attack on Americans. 

“I can be very clear once again, the DSA and the Digital Markets Act and our legislation applies equally to all online platforms in the EU."

Meanwhile, some criticism also came from within the EU itself, with Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán praising Musk on social media for standing up to the EU. 

However, European digital rights advocates praised the fine, seeing it as a step towards platform accountability and a show of regulatory strength.

“The fine against X comes very late, but Elon Musk’s immature response on social media and the irresponsible threats made by the US government against the EU show that we’re on the right path,” wrote Jan Penfrat, senior policy advisor at European Digital Rights group.

Next steps

X has three months to tell the commission how it will adapt their platform to comply with the law, and has the option to appeal the decision.  

If the social media giant does not comply with the ruling, the commission can impose "periodic penalty payments", meaning it could add additional fines for non-compliance.

There is a more nuclear option if X continues not to comply — the platform could be suspended in the EU for up to four weeks. But it is not up to the commission to decide.

Rather, the member state in charge of X in the EU, which in this instance would be Ireland, would start the procedure, and only if the breach is criminal and affects users’ safety. 

“We have absolutely no intention to ban any platform in the EU,” a commission spokesperson told EUobserver.

And the commission had no intention of stopping communication on X, explaining that it is one of 15 social media platforms the executive uses. 

“This is a means for us to still get in touch with citizens, stakeholders, to do some outreach work, to precisely speak about what we are doing in the EU,” said the commission spokesperson during the regular midday briefing. 

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