EU prepares large fines against Elon Musk's X - NYT
Kyiv • UNN
The European Union is preparing a large fine for the social network X for violating the law on combating disinformation. The fine may exceed $1 billion.
European Union regulators are preparing major fines against Elon Musk's social media platform X for violating a landmark law to combat illegal content and disinformation, citing four people familiar with the plans, The New York Times reports, noting that the move is likely to escalate tensions with the United States as it will target one of President Trump's closest advisers, UNN writes.
Details
The sanctions will include a fine and requirements to change the product, sources said. They are expected to be announced this summer and will be the first issued under the new EU law designed to force social media companies to monitor their services, they said.
European authorities are weighing what fine to impose on X as they consider the risks of further antagonizing Trump amid broader transatlantic disputes over trade, duties and the war in Ukraine, the publication writes. The fine could exceed $1 billion, one person said, as regulators seek to make X an example to deter other companies from violating the Digital Services Act.
EU officials said their investigation into X is proceeding independently of tariff negotiations after Trump announced new major levies this week. The investigation began in 2023, and last year regulators issued a preliminary ruling that X had violated the law.
The European Union and X could still reach an agreement if the company agrees to changes that would satisfy regulators' concerns, officials said.
X is also facing a second EU investigation, which is larger in scope and could lead to further penalties. In this investigation, two people said, EU officials are building a case that X's failure to control user content has turned it into a hub for illegal hate speech, disinformation and other material that is seen as undermining democracy in the 27-nation bloc.
"We have always applied and will apply our laws fairly and without discrimination to all companies operating in the EU, in full compliance with global rules," said a spokesman for the European Commission, the bloc's executive arm, declining to comment specifically on X.
X declined to comment. After this article was published, the company published a message saying that enforcement measures against it would be "an unprecedented act of political censorship and an attack on freedom of speech." X said it would do everything possible to protect its business and "defend freedom of speech in Europe."
Officials in Brussels expect Musk, who has criticised European policies as a form of censorship, to fight any regulation. In July, after the EU's preliminary findings were published, Musk said he was looking forward to challenging any punishment in a "very public court battle."
This could trigger a legal confrontation with far-reaching consequences. If Musk refuses to comply with EU rules, orders to change his service, a confrontation may arise, the publication writes.
