Musk Fires Back as EU Slaps X With $140 Million Fine

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00:00Musk fires back as EU slaps X with $140 million fine.

00:05Elon Musk is at the center of a fresh international clash after the European Union fined his platform.

00:11X, $140 million, alleging violations of the bloc's transparency laws.

00:17The European Commission cited multiple breaches of the Digital Services Act, DSA,

00:22including a deceptive blue-check design, failure to provide researchers with access to data,

00:27and a lack of transparency around political advertising.

00:31Musk responded immediately on X, criticizing the EU and its institutions.

00:36The EU should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries

00:40so that governments can better represent their people, he wrote, adding the hashtag AbolishTheEU.

00:46He further claimed the fine targeted him personally, describing it as crazy and bulls.

00:52Musk called for a forceful response not only to the EU, but also to the individuals responsible for the penalty.

00:59The reaction drew support from U.S. political figures.

01:03Trump administration leaders, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick,

01:09argued that the fine represented an attack on American tech platforms and free speech.

01:13Republicans across the board, including Senator Eric Schmidt, Senator Rick Scott, and FCC Chair Brendan Carr,

01:20criticized the EU for overreach, framing the issue as a foreign attempt to censor and bully American companies.

01:27EU officials, however, dismissed these claims, emphasizing that the action concerns transparency requirements

01:33rather than content moderation.

01:35A commission spokesperson stated that the fine addresses misleading practices, including X's blue-check verification system,

01:43which allegedly allows users to obtain verified status without proper vetting.

01:47The EU also criticized X's advertising database, noting that it fails to provide researchers a searchable repository,

01:55hindering accountability and user protection.

01:58For Musk, the dispute goes beyond financial penalties.

02:00It has evolved into a high-stakes political confrontation,

02:05highlighting tensions between U.S. tech interests and European regulatory authority,

02:09while spotlighting the broader debate over transparency and free speech in digital platforms.