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EU ignores not-so-subtle warning shot from VP Vance, fines X $140M

December 5, 2025 | | Print Article

Vice President JD Vance issued a not-so-subtle warning to European leaders for “attacking American companies over garbage.”

Taking to X, Vance responded to reports that the European Commission may finalize a formal probe into the social media platform owned by Elon Musk as early as Friday, after the EU’s digital rules enforcement began investigating X following Musk’s purchase of the company.

“Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,” Vance wrote.

Early Friday, the EU ignored Vance’s concerns and fined X 120 million euros ($140 million) under the Digital Services Act (DSA), after accusing the company of allegedly “failing to counter illicit content and disinformation, a lack of transparency about advertising and ‘deceptive’ design practices,” The New York Times reported.

The law “gives regulators vast new powers to force social media companies to police their platforms for hate speech, misinformation and other divisive content,” according to the newspaper.

The European Commission’s tech chief, Henna Virkkunen, let it be known that the fine could have been much higher while dismissing claims of censorship.

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“We are not here to impose the highest fines. We are here to make sure that our digital legislation is enforced and if you comply with our rules, you don’t get the fine. And it’s as simple as that,” she said, according to Street Insider.

“I think it’s very important to underline that DSA is having nothing to do with censorship,” Virkkunen said.

The penalty comes after a report that foreign political figures “aligned with the United Kingdom’s ruling establishment quietly coordinated an international effort to suppress American right-leaning media.”

The X probe took two 2 years, and Virkkunen said of future cases, “I’m really expecting that we will do the final decisions now faster.”

Meta and TikTok were charged with breaching DSA transparency obligations in October, according to the outlet.

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Before the fine was announced, Musk responded to Vance’s post to say, “Much appreciated.”

Here’s a quick sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:

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Tom Tillison
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