The European Union fined Elon Musk’s X $140 million, a move that risks retaliatory measures from the Trump administration.
The European Commission implemented the fine on Friday, the first under the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Services Act. Regulators claimed the penalty was due to the platform providing insufficient access to data and the deceptive design of verified markers for accounts. The amount was less than expected and was dwarfed by previous fines, but the move came despite several explicit warnings from President Donald Trump.
“We are not here to impose the highest fines,” EU digital chief Henna Virkkunen said. “We are here to make sure that our legislation is enforced. If you comply with our rules, you don’t get a fine.”
The EU has imposed tens of billions of dollars in fines on U.S. companies over the past decade, with most of these targeting Google and Apple. Trump’s newfound alliance with big U.S. tech companies, combined with his long-standing bitterness over his perception that the EU and other countries are “ripping off” the U.S., had moved him to mount a crusade against the digital regulatory policies of the bloc.
Vice President JD Vance caught wind of the news early, issuing a warning on Thursday evening.
“Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,” he wrote in a post on X.
Trump raged against the EU in September after it fined Google $3.5 billion, threatening to launch new tariffs in response.
“Very unfair, and the American Taxpayer will not stand for it!” Trump said of the fine in a Sept. 5 Truth Social post. “As I have said before, my Administration will NOT allow these discriminatory actions to stand.”
He also referenced a recent $17 billion fine to Apple, saying the company “should get their money back!”
TRUMP THREATENS EUROPE OVER ‘UNFAIR PENALTIES’ CHARGED TO US COMPANIES
“We cannot let this happen to brilliant and unprecedented American Ingenuity and, if it does, I will be forced to start a Section 301 proceeding to nullify the unfair penalties being charged to these Taxpaying American Companies,” Trump said, referring to Section 301 of the 1974 Trade Act, which authorizes the U.S. Trade Representative to levy tariffs against foreign goods to counter unfair trade practices.
The president didn’t follow through on the threat, but the new fine against his ally Musk’s company could change his mind.