E.U. hits Musk’s X with $140 million fine over alleged hate speech, misinformation

The European Commission said on Friday it would fine Elon Musk’s social media app X $140 million, saying it had broken the bloc’s digital rules – a move that risks angering the US government.

The European Commission found that X had violated the Digital Services Act, a sweeping 2022 law that requires internet companies to aggressively combat hate speech and misinformation.

The law – one of the most ambitious attempts to combat problematic content online – requires companies to put in place policies and procedures to remove posts deemed illegal by countries in the 27-nation union.

This sanction was quickly condemned by Vice-President JD Vance even before the European Commission announced it.

“There are rumors that the European Commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for non-censorship. The EU should support free speech and not attack American companies over garbage,” Vance said in an article on X Thursday afternoon.

Musk did not immediately respond to NBC News’ request for comment, but several hours before the European Commission released details of the fine, he shared an

Called the GRANITE Act and authored by Byrne, an attorney and compliance officer at a cryptocurrency company, it has been filed or is under consideration in several state legislatures, but does not appear to have been formally introduced at the federal level.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, has said its laws do not target any nationality and that it defends its digital and democratic standards.

After the fine was imposed, Henna Virkkunen, technical manager of the European Commission, said it was proportionate and calculated based on the nature of the infringements, their seriousness in terms of European users affected and their duration.

“I think it’s very important to emphasize that DSA has nothing to do with censorship,” Virkkunen told reporters, according to the Associated Press. Upcoming decisions on companies accused of DSA violations should take less time than the two years needed for Case X, she added.

But Brendan Carr, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, criticized the move in an article on X. “Once again, Europe is fining a successful American technology company for being a successful American technology company,” he wrote. “Europe taxes Americans to subsidize a continent held back by its own stifling regulations. »

The proposed sanction, in the works for almost two years, came after regulators said in late 2023 that they had opened proceedings against X for alleged failure to combat misinformation and content manipulation. X was the first company to come under such investigation when the investigation began.

Initially, regulators said the proceedings focused on several issues, including the alleged distribution of illegal content “in the context of Hamas’ terrorist attacks against Israel” and suspicions that X had a “deceptive design” in the way it distributed blue verification checks to paying users.

Musk, the world’s richest person by some measures, has had a rocky relationship with European leaders, even outside of the investigation into X. In January, the leaders of four European countries, including France and Germany, denounced his influence and warned that Musk should not get involved in their countries’ domestic politics.

Musk, a former close ally of President Donald Trump, has helped fuel a wave of far-right candidates across Europe and the world, although many of his candidates have failed to win power.

X could appeal the commission’s findings to European courts.

In April, after rumors spread that the commission was about to impose a sanction on X, the company declared itself ready to fight.

“If reports that the European Commission is considering coercive measures against X are accurate, this represents an unprecedented act of political censorship and an attack on freedom of expression,” the company said in an article about

“X has gone above and beyond to comply with the European Digital Services Act, and we will use every option at our disposal to defend our business, keep our users safe, and protect freedom of expression in Europe,” the company said.