San Francisco Frontiers - EU hits X with 120-mn-euro fine, risking Trump ire

The high-profile probe into the social media platform was seen as a test of the bloc's resolve to police Big Tech -- and Vice President JD Vance fired a bullish warning against "attacking" US firms through "censorship" before the penalty was even made public.

Imposing the first-ever fine under its powerful Digital Services Act (DSA) on content, the EU said it was hitting X for non-compliance with transparency rules including through the "deceptive design" of its blue checkmark.

"This decision is about the transparency of X" and "nothing to do with censorship," the bloc's tech chief Henna Virkkunen told reporters as it was announced -- pushing back at Vance's charge.

The US vice president warned the EU pre-emptively Thursday it "should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage" -- in an X post to which Musk replied "Much appreciated."

Musk's platform was the target of the EU's first ever formal DSA investigation launched in December 2023 -- and was preliminarily found to have breached its rules on several counts in July 2024.

The European Commission took issue with the check system introduced after Musk took over what was then Twitter in 2022 -- since it meant anyone could pay for a label intended as a badge of authenticity.

Its probe also found X failed to be sufficiently transparent about its advertising and give researchers access to public data in line with the DSA's rules.

X remains under investigation over how it tackles the spread of illegal content and information manipulation -- with those parts of the probe yet to conclude.

- 'Comply with our rules' -

Part one of the X probe had appeared to stall since the middle of last year -- with no movement on imposing.

Weighing on the EU's mind was the picture in the United States -- starkly different from 2023 -- after Trump returned as president with Musk by his side at the start of this year.

The pair later fell out, but the tycoon has since reappeared in White House circles, and Brussels had to contend with the prospect any fine on X would fan tensions with the US leader.

True to form, Vance hit out before the move was even announced, citing "rumours" the commission was preparing to fine X "for not engaging in censorship."

The DSA gives the EU power to fine companies as much as six percent of their global annual revenues -- and in the case of X the bloc could have based itself on the revenues of Musk's entire business empire, including Tesla.

Brussels settled on what is arguably a moderate sum relative to X's clout -- but Virkkunen told reporters it was "proportionate" to the violations at stake.

"We are not here to impose the highest fines. We are here to make sure that our digital legislation is enforced," said the tech chief. "If you comply with our rules, you don't get a fine -- and it's as simple as that."

She also emphasised this was just one part of a "very broad investigation" into X, which remained ongoing.

Washington has made plain its distaste for the bloc's tech laws, and US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick pressed the EU to rethink the rules if it wants lower steel duties while in Brussels last week.

Driving the point home, a new national security strategy released Friday by Trump's administration urges Europe to "abandon its failed focus on regulatory suffocation."

The commission has repeatedly asserted Europe's "sovereign right" to enforce its laws.

At the same time as the X fine, the commission said it had accepted commitments from TikTok to address concerns over its advertising system, although the Chinese-owned platform remains under DSA investigation over other issues.

Regarding X, EU officials insist US politics did not steer their decision-making -- but rather making the case legally water-tight.

C.Williams--SFF