Posted on 12/07/2025 8:30:53 AM PST by MtnClimber
The European Union has moved this week to punish the social media company X and Elon Musk for allegedly “deceiving users” through certain company practices.
On Thursday, X, which was formerly known as Twitter, was fined €120 million ($140 million) by the European Union for violating one of the international organization’s laws regulating technology companies. The move makes the social media platform the first company to be fined under the jurisdiction of the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA).
“Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU. The DSA protects users,” Henna Virkkunen, the Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy at the European Commission said in a statement.
“The DSA gives researchers the way to uncover potential threats. The DSA restores trust in the online environment. With the DSA’s first non-compliance decision, we are holding X responsible for undermining users’ rights and evading accountability,” Virkkunen continued.
The case dates back to December 18, 2023, when the European Commission began a formal investigation into X. Twitter was bought by Musk, a top Republican donor in the 2024 election and former head of DOGE, in October 2022, and has since been rebranded X. Later, in July 2024, Musk endorsed President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Trump administration officials are speaking out against the EU’s effort.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio posted on X that “The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on [X], it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments. The days of censoring Americans online are over.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr posted on X that “Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company. Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize a continent held back by Europe’s own suffocating regulations.”
According to a press release from the commission, X’s blue checkmark feature was deceptive because the social media company allowed anyone who paid money to receive the marking rather than just those the company had “meaningfully verifying who is behind the account.”
The commission claims this feature violated the DSA requirement that online platforms not permit deceptive design practices. The commission also said that X had not met the transparency and accessibility requirements laid out by the DSA.
“X incorporates design features and access barriers, such as excessive delays in processing, which undermine the purpose of ad repositories. X’s ads repository also lacks critical information, such as the content and topic of the advertisement, as well as the legal entity paying for it,” the commission concluded. The executive body also held that X failed “to provide researchers access to public data.”
The social media company now has 60 working days to let the commission know how it will rectify the violation associated with the blue checkmarks, and 90 working days to provide an action plan to the commission addressing the violations associated with X’s advertising repository and researcher access to public data.
Is there any way the USA can keep the EU from collecting fine, or retaliate against any collection efforts? Military force against collection should not be ruled out.
Ok, no Skylink
For YOU !!!
One observes "Union" -- as in European Union -- of "Soviet" -- meaning legislative committees or assemblies -- "Socialist" -- meaning massive welfare states, with growing command over businesses -- "Republics" -- as the EU reduces nations to "member states."
Tyranny dressed in pastel jackets for the ladies might look pretty and feminine, but the clenched fists wrapped in silk gloves are still clenched fists.
Every European tech company should be fiend by the U.S. now.
This is powerless Europe’s attempt to exercise control. Want control? Come get it by force of arms or go straight to hell.
"If someone is going to try and blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money—go f*ck yourself. Go. F*ck. Yourself. Is that clear? Hey Bob, if you're in the audience, that's how I feel."I have no doubt Musk will tell the EU pretty much the same thing.
Just say it. The EU is robbing Musk because he won’t censor X for them.
The EU are not allies. We should dump them and NATO.
Trump's response and administration stance:
President Trump's position: He aligned with Elon Musk in blasting the EU fine, calling it an example of “Orwellian European censorship” and suggesting the EU was targeting American companies unfairly.
Elon Musk's reaction: Musk went further, saying the EU “should be abolished” and dismissed the fine as “bulls***,” claiming it was levied against him personally as well as X.
Vice President JD Vance: He said the EU “should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,” framing the fine as ideological warfare.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio: He argued the fine was “an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments”.
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick: He warned the Digital Services Act was “designed to stifle free speech and American tech companies”.
Other allies: Senator Ted Cruz called the fine an “abomination” and urged Trump to impose sanctions until it was reversed.
How about placing theft warrants against the EU leadership. Place rewards on their heads. Make them afraid of flying because their flights could be diverted to locations where they would be arrested.
Well said.
“The EU are not allies. We should dump them and NATO.”
Suppose Putin sent an army across to Alaska. Would any NATO country send troops in a meaningful number to help us? Canada probably, because it would quickly involve them, maybe Poland and Hungary. A few other countries might send a platoon or company.
“I think they’re threatened by Reform, AfD and other “far-right” parties.”
Then they are going about it the right way, go after X. /s
Every parent knows that when your daughter likes a guy you don’t approve of, you FORBID her to see him again. Tell her he is the worst and sternly tell her you will never approve! That always works. She won’t even sneak out the window to meet him...The EU is making AfD the “cool kid”.
So that, and autistic crazy wealthy Elon. These Euro plutocrats are in a no win game.
I’m glad they won’t, but if they were smart, they would let AfD in and seduce them into the system the way the GOP does to conservatives.
A brilliant twist on Orwell!!!! Kudos.
And they look so harmless.....
It's a but more sadly humorous, as we used to see coverage of Annalena Baerbock, Alliance 90/The Greens, who was for a while Germany's foreign minister -- "green" to the point of socialist, through and through -- who now holds the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly. Stiletto heels with tight jeans. A lot. "Green" in the excess. And her grandfather was an avid National Socialist.
AfD is not even that Conservative. The leader of AfD, Alice Weidel is a lesbian and is married to a Sri Lankan woman.
The only thing that is "far-right" about AfD is that they want a total moratorium on immigration.
Parties in power can have an agreement with AfD—10 years of restriction on immigration. After that, it'll be back to business as usual.
Obviously, we are seeing that in the EU, the parties are not used to having to compromise on issues.
They are insulted that they are having to do that. They are that arrogant.
It’s winter, a LNG tariff.
Oh yeah, you’re absolutely correct. To the stop millions of rapey stabby Africans and moslems in is “conservative”. I bet AfD would be to the left of AOC if they were over here.
Same for Torys in England.
They have sure moved that Overton window over there.
Unlimited immigration/open borders.
Yeah, AfD is conservative to them. Hell, the AfD position on immigration isn’t political conservatism... it’s actually just mere sanity.
The EU Commission is like someone removing the front door on your house as rabid coyotes are prowling and coming in.
You suggest maybe putting the door back in place would be a good idea, and they screech that you must be some kind of dreaded “conservative”! Practically a nazi!
And I like that you said immigration and not illegal immigration. When you bring in tens of millions of immigrants from backwards societies that are the opposite of yours, it doesn’t matter if they are legal or illegal.
This is the great replacement. A deliberate effort to make us strangers in our own land.
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