The Trump Administration Is Trying to Get Musk and X out of a $137 Million EU Fine

The US Department of Justice has filed an application to support Elon Musk's legal challenge to annul a €120 million fine imposed by the EU's General Court on X, formerly known as Twitter. The General Court's decision will determine if the US has the right to intervene in the case. The US government is arguing that it should be involved to protect American companies.

The fine is the first under the Digital Services Act, requiring online platforms to take more action to tackle illegal and harmful content, especially the largest sites. Many of those platforms, including Meta's Facebook, Google's YouTube, and Microsoft's LinkedIn, are based in the US and contribute significantly to the US economy.

Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate stated that the US will not tolerate the European Commission's regulatory overreach attempting to control American engines of innovation and economic growth. The case also has implications for US-EU relations, with US President Donald Trump calling the penalties "overseas extortion" and Vice President JD Vance criticizing the DS's content moderation rules as "authoritarian censorship."

The EU's investigation found X breached transparency obligations, as X's blue checkmarks are simply paid-for statuses and it has issues with advertising and data access that hinder research. Both Musk and X appealed the ruling in February, claiming the EU's investigation was incomplete and superficial, and its interpretation of the Digital Services Act obligations was tortured.

Musk also criticized the financial and administrative burden of increased transparency requirements globally.