‘Should be abolished’: Musk slams EU after X slapped with $210 million fine
Elon Musk has lashed out at the European Union in a string of fiery social media posts, after X was slapped with an over $200 million fine.
Elon Musk has lashed out at the European Union, calling for the group to be “abolished” in a string of fiery social media posts after his X social media platform was slapped with an over $200 million fine.
The European Commission issued a €120 million ($A210 million) penalty against X on Friday for breaking its digital rules in the commission’s first-ever decision under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The breaches include the deceptive design of X’s “blue checkmark” for supposedly verified accounts, and its failure to provide access to public data for researchers.
Hitting back at the decision, the tech billionaire took to X to slam the EU and its commission’s “crazy” fine.
“The EU should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries, so that governments can better represent their people,” Mr Musk wrote in one post on Saturday, US time.
“I love Europe, but not the bureaucratic monster that is the EU,” he said in another.
“How long before the EU is gone? AbolishTheEU,” another read.
In an earlier post on Friday, Mr Musk warned he would respond to the fine by targeting the individuals behind the decision.
“The ‘EU’ imposed this crazy fine not just on @X, but also on me personally, which is even more insane!
“Therefore, it would seem appropriate to apply our response not just to the EU, but also to the individuals who took this action against me.”
‘Deception’: X found guilty
X became the subject of the EU’s first formal DSA investigation in December 2023.
After a two-year-long investigation, it was found guilty of breaching the DSA’s transparency obligation on Friday, with the commission ruling against X on three counts.
The EU found changes made to the platform’s checkmark system after Mr Musk took over in 2022 meant that “anyone can pay” to obtain a badge of authenticity – without X “meaningfully verifying who is behind the account”.
“This deception exposes users to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors,” the Commission said in a statement.
X had also failed to be sufficiently transparent about its advertising and to give researchers access to public data in line with DSA rules, it added.
X remains under investigation over tackling the spread of illegal content and information manipulation.
The DSA gives the EU power to fine companies as much as six per cent of their global annual revenue – and in the case of X the bloc could have based itself on Mr Musk’s entire business empire, including Tesla.
The bloc’s technology commissioner Henna Virkkunen told reporters the fine was “proportionate” to the violations at stake.
“We are not here to impose the highest fines,” she said.
“We are here to make sure that our digital legislation is enforced,” she added.
“If you comply with our rules, you don’t get a fine – and it’s as simple as that.”
She also emphasised that this was one part of a “very broad investigation” into X, which was ongoing.
‘Garbage’: Trump admin erupts
News of the fine has not gone over well in the US – where Mr Musk previously served as the head of the President Donald Trump’s cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Even before the penalty was made public, Vice President JD Vance hit out at the EU for “attacking” US companies.
“Rumours 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 on X.
“Much appreciated,” Mr Musk responded.
Hours after the fine was announced, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined the attack.
“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,” Rubio posted on X.
“The days of censoring Americans online are over.”
“This decision is about the transparency of X” and “nothing to do with censorship,” Ms Virkkunen told reporters – pushing back against Washington’s line of attack.
It comes as a new national security strategy released on Friday by Mr Trump’s administration urged Europe to “abandon its failed focus on regulatory suffocation”.
The 33-page document puts into writing the offensive launched months ago by the administration against Europe, which the US has accused of taking advantage of American generosity, a radical departure from previous US policy.
The new strategy, targets, among other things, European institutions that “undermine political liberty and sovereignty,” immigration policies, “censorship of free speech and suppression of political opposition”, the collapse of birthrates, and the loss of national identities.
“Should present trends continue, the continent will be unrecognisable in 20 years or less,” the document said.
‘Historic decision’
Elsewhere, nations have praised the EU’s move.
France’s digital affairs minister Anne Le Henanff hailed the EU’s “historic” decision.
“By sanctioning X, Europe shows it is capable of moving from words to action,” she said.
Germany’s digital minister Karsten Wildberger said the bloc’s digital rules “apply to everyone, no matter where they come from”.
The Center for Countering Digital Hate advocacy group said the move “sends a message that no tech platform is above the laws all corporations have to abide by”.
– With AFP
Originally published as ‘Should be abolished’: Musk slams EU after X slapped with $210 million fine
