US hits out at EU's 'suffocating regulations' after it fines Elon Musk's X

BBC News - WorldCenterEN 4 min read 100% complete December 5, 2025 at 06:58 PM

AI Summary

medium article 4 min

The EU has fined Elon Musk's social media platform X €120 million due to concerns that its blue check mark verification system deceives users and exposes them to scams. The European Commission stated that X is not meaningfully verifying the identity of accounts with paid blue ticks. US officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FCC chair Brendan Carr, have criticized the EU's action, accusing it of unfairly targeting a US tech company and stifling free speech. They argue that the EU's regulations are suffocating and that the fine is an attack on American tech platforms. The EU also cited X's lack of transparency regarding advertising and limited data access for researchers as contributing factors to the fine.

Key Entities & Roles

Key Player Opposition Context

Marco Rubio 40% United States ×350% European Commission ×260% X (social media platform) ×570% Elon Musk ×480%

Keywords

eu regulations 90% elon musk's x 80% blue tick badges 70% social media platform 60% censorship 60% online scams 50% us firms 50% data transparency 50%