EU hits Musk’s X with $140m fine for ‘deceptive’ blue tick, ad transparency

Landmark penalty triggers US fury as Brussels enforces first digital transparency sanction.X faces its first major penalty under EU digital rules [File: Rick Rycroft/AP Photos]Published On 5 Dec 2025The European Union has slapped a 120 million euro ($140m) penalty on Elon Musk’s social media platform X for breaching digital transparency rules, igniting a transatlantic clash over tech regulation.Brussels announced the fine on Friday in its first enforcement action under the Digital Services Act, legislation designed to rein in social media companies.Recommended Stories list of 2 itemslist 1 of 2Russia continues tech crackdown by blocking Snapchat, FaceTime accesslist 2 of 2X’s new location disclosure policy: What does it mean for safety?end of listThe decision has deepened tensions with Washington, where officials accused Europe of targeting US businesses under the guise of protecting users.European regulators found X guilty of three violations after a two-year investigation. The platform’s paid blue checkmark system, which Brussels said “deceives users” about account authenticity, drew a 45 million euro ($52.4m) penalty.X was fined another 35 million euros ($40.7m) for failing to maintain transparent advertising records that would help identify scams and fake political s, while blocking researchers from accessing public data cost the company 40 million euros ($46.6m). Today, we fined X for non-compliance with transparency obligations under the DSA. We're holding X accountable for:🔹Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’🔹Lack of transparency of its advertising repository🔹Failure to provide access to public data for researchers ↓ — European Commission (@EU_Commission) December 5, 2025The decision risks further inflaming trade negotiations between Brussels and Washington, where the Trump administration has demanded Europe abandon regulations it views as protectionist.US Vice President JD Vance lashed out at Brussels even before the announcement, claiming the platform was being punished “for not engaging in censorship”.Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the fine “an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments”.Commenting on Rubio’s post, Musk wrote, “Absolutely”. Commenting on the EU’s post announcing the fine, Musk wrote: “Bulls***”.But EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen denied the ruling amounted to censorship.“Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU,” she said, adding that Brussels was simply “holding X responsible for undermining users’ rights.”European politicians expressed relief after what many saw as prolonged delays in enforcement.French Digital Minister Anne Le Henanff described it as a “magnificent announcement,” while Germany’s digital minister, Karsten Wildberger, said it showed Brussels was “determined to enforce” its rules.Critics argued the penalty was too modest.The fine represents a fraction of the 5.9 billion euros ($6.9bn) maximum allowed under the act, which permits sanctions of up to 6 percent of global revenue.Politico reported that Cori Crider, executive director of the Future of Technology Institute, said, “Musk will moan in public – in private, he will be doing cartwheels.”X now has between 60 and 90 days to submit compliance plans addressing the violations or face additional periodic penalties.The company did not respond to requests for comment by the Reuters news agency.The ruling lands amid broader investigations into 10 major platforms, including Facebook and Instagram.Chinese-owned TikTok avoided penalties on Friday by pledging to improve its advertising transparency.Brussels continues to probe whether X has failed to combat illegal content and information manipulation, violations that could trigger substantially larger fines.