Elon Musk slammed the European Union after X was fined $140 million under the Digital Services Act, accusing the bloc of bureaucratic overreach and calling for the EU’s abolition amid rising tech-regulation tensions.
Published: December 8, 2025 6:48 PM IST
In an extraordinary clash between one of the world’s most powerful tech moguls and European authorities, Elon Musk has urged the end of the European Union after regulators levied a record-breaking fine on his social-media company X. The sanction – €120 million (US$140 million) – was issued for numerous violations of transparency in the bloc’s flagship digital rules, sparking a furious reaction from the tech billionaire.
Why did the EU fine X?
On Dec. 5, 2025, the European Commission revealed the bloc’s first major penalty under the Digital Services Act (DSA), and the central target of the investigation was X. Regulators found that the platform’s “blue checkmark” verification service – now accessible to everyone for a subscription fee – was a “deceptive design” that could mislead users into thinking certain accounts had been verified by X when they had not.
Regulators also criticized X for not providing enough transparency for ads (ad repository data) and impeding public access to data for independent researchers, both of which are required by the DSA.
X had already given Brussels reasons to suspect a potential violation: the DSA is a law with teeth, crafted with a view to end manipulative platform behavior and better police large social media services. As the EU is tasked with overseeing and enforcing the bloc’s digital rules, X’s contraventions of the rules are particularly consequential, triggering the “highest” fine of 120 million euros for a first non-compliance.
Musk’s reaction: “EU should be abolished”
Hours after the ruling, Musk was on X to unload his anger. He issued a tweet also asking the EU to be abolished and sovereignty to be restored to individual member states. Musk said: “The EU should be abolished, and sovereignty returned to individual countries, so that governments can better represent their people.”
The CEO later clarified he was attacking the EU bureaucracy: “This is not an attack on Europe but on the bureaucratic monster that is the EU. I love Europe, but not the bureaucratic monster that is the EU.”
In the U.S., Musk’s allies and conservative commentators also chimed in, applauding his message. Among them, U.S. Vice President JD Vance called the EU fine “attack on free speech” and an “assault on American companies.”
Significance: A DSA precedent, in the digital-policy era
It is the first time the EU has issued a fine of this magnitude under the DSA, a sweeping law passed in 2022 that is designed to set accountability, transparency, and consumer protection standards for large digital platforms.
The DSA verdict highlights Brussels’ willingness to enforce the law, even against high-profile tech firms and the individuals who run them. For X, it marks a historic moment, which could have profound implications for the way it treats verification, advertising, transparency and sharing data with researchers. X now has a deadline to suggest remedial actions: how to fix its verification system, improve ad-repo transparency and data-access practices. Non-compliance could open X to further sanctions under the DSA, and in worst cases, blacklisting or ejection from the bloc.
Beyond X, the decision is an ominous signal for other global tech platforms that Brussels will not be afraid to go after “dark patterns” (misleading UI elements), opaqueness around online advertising, and privacy abuses. Expect more disruption across the digital ecosystem: from how content moderation will be handled to disclosures around ad targeting, as companies serving European users will have to adapt to the law.
What happens next?
X could turn to legal avenues, contesting the decision in court, which could delay the payment and prolong the spat between Brussels and the company. In the short term, the European Commission has given X a 60-day deadline to suggest changes, and 90 days to implement them. The EU also made clear that the enforcement process will remain in place, and repeat offenses will face steeper penalties.
In the political sphere, the clash between Musk and Brussels is bound to continue and will likely ratchet up the political dimensions of the debate: on issues such as sovereignty vs. supra-national regulation, free speech vs. platform accountability, or extraterritoriality of digital law.
DSA is no longer just on the books: it is in action and will actively shape the future of tech governance. And the eyes of the world are watching.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: india.com
