EU Slaps Elon Musk’s X With $140 Million Fine Over ‘Deceptive’ Blue Checks and Data Gaps

The New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg, Reuters, and Business Insider contributed to this report.

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has become the first company ever fined under the European Union’s new Digital Services Act (DSA) — and Brussels is making an example of it.

On Friday, the European Commission hit X with a €120 million (about $140 million) penalty, saying the company violated key transparency rules designed to keep big platforms from being abused and manipulated.

EU officials stressed this isn’t about censoring speech — it’s about how X is run.

“Deceiving users with blue check marks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU,” said Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s executive vice president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy. “We are holding X responsible for undermining users’ rights and evading accountability.”

X did not respond to requests for comment. Musk can appeal the decision, which could drag the case through European courts for years.

After a two-year investigation under the DSA, regulators said X broke several rules tied to transparency and user protection:

• Paid blue checkmarks
  The EU said X’s subscription-based blue check system is misleading. Anyone can pay for a “verified” badge, which regulators argue tricks users into thinking an account is authentic or vetted, leaving them more vulnerable to scams and impersonation.
• Opaque ad library
  X failed to build a proper public database showing who is behind ads on the platform, as required under the DSA. That repository is supposed to help watchdogs and the public track scam ads, political messaging and manipulation campaigns.
• Blocking researchers
  X has not provided sufficient access to public data for independent researchers, who use that information to study issues like disinformation, political polarization and how content spreads.

Under the DSA, fines can reach up to 6% of a company’s global revenue, but regulators say this penalty was calibrated to match the nature, gravity and duration of X’s violations and how many EU users were affected.

X now has:

• 60 days to explain how it will fix the “deceptive” blue check system;
• 90 days to submit a plan to fix ad transparency and researcher access.

If it doesn’t comply, the Commission says additional penalties could follow.

In money terms, the fine is tiny compared to Musk’s estimated $450+ billion net worth and modest next to some other EU tech penalties — like multibillion-dollar fines on Google or Apple.

But politically, it’s a big moment.

The case is the first enforcement action under the DSA, the bloc’s flagship law aimed at forcing large online platforms to better police illegal and harmful content, expose their algorithms to scrutiny and be more transparent about how they operate.

The decision also lands in the middle of strained US–EU tensions over tech regulation, free speech and big American platforms.

The Trump administration has repeatedly slammed Europe’s digital rules — including the DSA and the Digital Markets Act — as unfair attacks on US tech firms.

Ahead of the ruling, US Vice President JD Vance blasted the EU on X, writing:

“The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.”

Musk responded: “Much appreciated.”

EU officials pushed back, insisting the fine has nothing to do with censorship and everything to do with enforcing rules that apply to all major platforms, regardless of where they’re based.

X has been under a European microscope ever since Musk took over the platform (then Twitter) in 2022 and upended its verification system, gutted moderation staff and relaxed policies around content enforcement.

The blue check overhaul, in particular, quickly led to chaos, as paid “verified” accounts impersonated politicians, celebrities and major brands, sometimes moving markets and spreading misinformation.

The DSA investigation into X, opened in 2023, is one of the law’s first major test cases. Friday’s ruling only covers transparency and design issues — but it’s not the end of X’s problems in Europe.

The Commission is still investigating:

• How X handles illegal content;
• Its approach to election disinformation and information manipulation;
• The role of features like Community Notes in moderating or amplifying content.

Those probes could lead to more findings — and more fines down the road.

Beyond the legal and technical details, the clash over X highlights a deeper philosophical divide:

• The EU sees strict rules and enforcement as essential to protecting democracy, users’ rights and public debate online.
• Musk and his allies frame those same rules as attacks on free speech and American innovation.

For now, X has 60 to 90 days to show Brussels it’s willing to play by European rules. If not, Friday’s $140 million fine may just be the opening round in a much bigger fight.