Elon Musk’s X hit with massive EU fine over ‘deceptive’ practices

Elon Musk’s social platform X (formerly Twitter) has been hit with a hefty $140 million fine in the European Union (EU) over what regulators are calling “deceptive” design and misleading platform policies.

EU officials have accused X of enabling users to obscure their identities and engaging in questionable advertising practices that allegedly undermine user rights, accountability, and platform trust. 

This ruling makes X the first company penalised under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a sweeping regulation meant to increase transparency, protect users, and closely monitor online platforms.

For those uninitiated, the DSA has long been criticised by the Trump administration, which claims the EU law suppresses free speech. 

That said, Brussels appears determined to apply strict oversight on US-based tech giants, and Musk’s X has become its latest target.

While Musk hasn’t directly addressed the fine, he did repost a lawyer’s proposal for a “foreign censorship shield law,” suggesting X could potentially sue the European Commission in the US. 

Meanwhile, EU regulators have slammed Musk’s revamped verification system, arguing that allowing anyone to buy a blue checkmark makes it harder for users to identify authentic accounts.