The European Union has X (formerly Twitter) in its sights. According to several sources close to the matter who spoke to the New York Times, European regulators plan to sanction Elon Musk's platform for failing to comply with the Digital Services Act (DSA), a law adopted to force web giants to better moderate their content and make their practices more transparent.
A hefty fine in preparation for Elon Musk
The fine could exceed $1 billion, something never seen since the DSA came into effect. And that's not all: in addition to the financial penalty, the EU intends to demand concrete changes in the platform's operations. Nothing is official yet, but the announcement could come this summer.
The social network is accused of having allowed disinformation and hate speech to slip through the net, and of having been too opaque about its algorithms, its ads, and its account verification system. Brussels also criticizes the social network for not having shared its data with researchers, which greatly complicates the assessment of the impact of certain content.
Asked about this case, the European Commission avoided confirming the amount of the fine, but reiterated that "the laws are applied fairly to all companies."
Elon Musk has not remained silent. On his platform, he denounced an attack on "freedom of expression" (it remains to be seen what freedom he is really talking about) and promised to defend himself tooth and nail. He even mentioned a future "very public fight in court." The businessman, who regularly criticizes European regulation, could well engage in a muscular showdown.
On the other side of the Atlantic, some see this investigation as a form of political pressure. X is indeed considered close to Donald Trump, and trade tensions between the EU and the United States are already high. The White House even expressed concern, in a memo published in February, that European laws such as the DSA and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) "unfairly" target American companies.
Brussels insists that none of this has anything to do with trade discussions or Elon Musk's political preferences. But the coincidence comes at a bad time: Trump has just relaunched a series of customs duties that are already causing offence. Europeans.
X could still negotiate a deal with the EU to avoid the worst, but a second, broader investigation is already underway, potentially with further sanctions. In any case, this case shows that the EU has no intention of easing the pressure on big tech platforms, regardless of who owns them.
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