The European Union is preparing to fine Elon Musk’s platform X over $1 billion for breaking the Digital Services Act, a law aimed at forcing social media companies to control illegal content and disinformation. The planned penalties include both a heavy fine and forced changes to the platform’s features.

These actions, expected this summer, would be the first ever under the new law, directly hitting one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies.

The X investigation into started in 2023 and has been building for over a year, and European regulators issued a preliminary ruling last year saying the company broke the law. The commission now says the platform failed to provide access to researchers, didn’t offer clear details on advertisers, and refused to verify the identity of users paying for the “verified” blue check.

Regulators say that made X more open to manipulation, disinformation, and foreign influence. The final penalty, still being calculated, could cross $1 billion, depending on whether officials decide to include Elon’s other companies, like SpaceX, in the revenue formula.

EU opens second case against X while fine decision nears

The European Commission confirmed the law is being enforced across the board. In a statement, a spokesman for the commission said, “We have always enforced and will continue to enforce our laws fairly and without discrimination toward all companies operating in the E.U., in full compliance with global rules.” He didn’t mention X specifically, but officials confirmed that the case is proceeding with no delays.

The final fine amount won’t be decided until closer to the summer announcement, but the law allows penalties up to 6 percent of global revenue. While maximum fines are rare, officials said they’re not off the table. The commission has also left the door open for a settlement if X agrees to major platform changes that meet regulatory expectations. Right now, that hasn’t happened.

At the same time, the EU has opened a second investigation into X. This one is wider and targets the platform’s loose moderation policies. Two people familiar with the matter said officials are building a case that X became a hotspot for illegal content, including hate speech and political lies, that damages democracy across all 27 member states. Officials believe X’s hands-off policies allow harmful material to spread too easily, without accountability.

The push to fine X comes as transatlantic relations grow more strained. Earlier this week, Donald Trump introduced a new round of tariffs on European goods. Despite that, regulators involved in the X case say their investigation is separate from trade talks.

However, one official reportedly told the New York Times that the timing wasn’t a coincidence. After Trump returned to power, EU authorities briefly slowed their probe to assess fallout, but once tensions grew over tariffs, they decided to move ahead aggressively.

Back in July 2024, right after the commission released its initial ruling, Elon responded on X saying he was ready for “a very public battle in court.” He has openly criticized European internet policies as censorship, and he’s expected to resist any fines or forced changes. If he refuses to comply, the case could lead to a full-blown legal showdown over sovereignty and who controls online platforms operating in Europe.

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