President Donald Trump has sharply criticized a €120 million ($140 million) fine imposed on Elon Musk’s social media company X by European Union regulators, calling the penalty “a nasty one” and questioning its justification.
Speaking at a White House event on Monday, Trump said he expected to receive a full report on the matter later in the day. “Europe is going in some bad directions,” he told reporters. “I don’t see how they can do that. Europe has to be very careful.” He added that Musk had not contacted him to seek assistance.
The fine, announced last week, was levied under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) for alleged breaches of online content rules. Regulators accused X of failing to provide researchers access to public data, maintaining an incomplete advertising repository, and using deceptive design in its blue checkmark verification system.
Musk dismissed the penalty in a blunt response on his platform, writing “Bullshit” under the European Commission’s announcement and reposting messages criticizing the decision. “Freedom of speech is the bedrock of democracy. The only way to know what you are voting for,” he wrote.
Several U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, denounced the EU’s move as an attack on American companies.
EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen defended the fine as proportionate, stressing that the DSA “has nothing to do with censorship.” The European Commission said the law applies equally to all platforms, regardless of nationality, and is intended to uphold digital and democratic standards.
Other platforms have also faced scrutiny under the DSA. TikTok, charged in May for failing to maintain a public ad repository to detect scam ads, avoided a fine by pledging improvements and urged regulators to enforce rules consistently across platforms.
