EU just slammed Elon Musk with an astronomical price for what they found out about his blue checkmark deception

The European Union just hit billionaire Elon Musk’s social platform X (earlier known as Twitter) with a colossal $140 million fine, according to The Hill. That astronomical price tag comes because the EU found X violated the Digital Services Act, or DSA, making this the very first time a company has been sanctioned under the bloc’s major tech law.

The EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, slammed X for three major failures, but the deceptive blue checkmark system seems to be the one that really got under their skin. The Commission stated X is actively deceiving users with its verification system. This is a critical issue because the DSA strictly prohibits deceptive design. Since anyone can pay for a checkmark now, it’s incredibly difficult for users to figure out which accounts are actually authentic and which are just paying for the visibility boost.

When you can’t tell if you’re reading a reputable account or just a random person who paid $8, the whole system breaks down. Beyond the checkmark drama, X also faced sanctions for its significant lack of transparency around advertising and data access for researchers. The Commission found that the platform failed to create a transparent advertising repository, which is a key requirement for accountability.

The EU fine also exposes some bizarre choices made by Musk’s team at X

If you’re running ads on a massive platform, users and regulators need to know who is paying for what. Unfortunately, the Commission found that the repository X created was essentially useless because of design flaws. Those design features actively undermined its effectiveness, in addition to lacking essential information about the advertisements running on the site.

The third major violation involves data access. The DSA mandates that researchers should have ways to independently access public data to monitor the platform’s health and behavior. X was blocking those researchers from accessing the data, which is a clear violation of the DSA’s rules on transparency and accountability. If you’re a massive global platform, you simply can’t shut out people trying to study what’s happening on your site.

Unsurprisingly, this decision is already causing friction across the Atlantic. The Trump administration has previously voiced strong opposition to the EU’s efforts to regulate U.S. tech companies. Vice President Vance wasn’t waiting for the official announcement. He preemptively slammed the bloc as rumors of the fine began swirling, although Musk’s recent move with a new feature on X exposed some bitter secrets of the MAGA movement. Musk’s father, however, seems to be more of a MAGA ally.

Vance posted on the platform, “Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship.” He framed the move as an attack on American companies. He concluded that “The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.” This definitely sets up a complicated international regulatory fight, as the Trump administration clearly sees the DSA as overreach, while the EU views it as essential for digital consumer protection.