Elon Musk calls for abolishing the EU after the bloc fined X for $140 mn

On December 5, the European Union issued a ruling against X, following a two-year investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA), adopted in 2022 to regulate online platforms

Days after the European Union fined Elon Musk’s social media company X 120 million euros ($140 million), citing what it described as a “deceptive” blue checkmark system and insufficient transparency in the platform’s advertising repository, the billionaire has now called for the bloc to be abolished, CNBC reported.

 

On December 5, the European Commission issued a ruling against X, following a two-year investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA), adopted in 2022 to regulate online platforms. Responding to the Commission’s post on X at the time, Musk wrote: “Bulls".

 

Stepping up his criticism of the bloc, Musk wrote on December 6: “The EU should be abolished, and sovereignty returned to individual countries, so that governments can better represent their people.”

 

How did the US respond to the EU’s fine on X?

 

Musk’s remarks come as senior US government officials have also stepped up their opposition to the decision. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the fine as an “attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments".

 

Andrew Puzder, the US ambassador to the EU, wrote on X: “Today’s excessive €120M fine is the result of EU regulatory overreach targeting American innovation.”

 

Puzder added: “The Trump Administration has been clear: we oppose censorship and will challenge burdensome regulations that target US companies abroad. We expect the EU to engage in fair, open, & reciprocal trade — & nothing less.”

 

What has the European Commission said?

 

Last week, the EU said the breaches related to what it described as the “deceptive” design of X’s blue checkmark, limited transparency around the platform’s advertising repository and a failure to give researchers access to public data.

 

In a statement, Henna Virkkunen, the Commission’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said the DSA’s first non-compliance decision aimed to hold X accountable for undermining users’ rights and sidestepping responsibility.

 

Under the ruling:

 

X has 60 days to explain how it will address issues linked to the blue checkmark.

 

It has 90 days to propose fixes to concerns around ads transparency and researcher access to public data.

 

The European Commission warned that failing to comply could result in recurring penalty payments.