US Government Intervenes to Help X Fight $137 Million EU Fine
In September 2026, the US Justice Department, with State’s help, asked the EU General Court to allow intervention in X’s appeal of its €120 million ($137 million) fine. The first DSA sanction cited deceptive blue-check labels and restricted ad and researcher data access.
The US government filed an application in September 2026 to support Elon Musk and his social media platform X in a legal challenge against a €120 million ($137 million) fine issued by the European Union, escalating Washington’s criticism of the bloc’s tech regulations.
The Department of Justice, with assistance from the Department of State, submitted the application to the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg, seeking to intervene in X’s bid to annul the fine. The court will now decide whether the US has standing to participate in the case.
The EU’s fine — the first sanction issued under the Digital Services Act (DSA) — was handed down by the European Commission in December following a two-year investigation. The Commission found that X had breached transparency obligations, including by labeling paid blue checkmark accounts as “verified,” which it ruled was deceptive. Regulators also cited X’s inaccessible advertising repository and failure to provide researchers with access to public data. In July, the Commission accepted X’s plan to address the data access issues, giving the company six months to implement changes.
Both Musk and X launched appeals against the ruling in February, arguing the investigation was “incomplete and superficial” and that the DSA obligations had been “tortured” in their interpretation. They also alleged they were denied adequate rights of defense, suggesting prosecutorial bias.
The US government argues its involvement is necessary to protect American companies, noting that many of the largest platforms subject to the DSA — including Meta, Google, and Microsoft — are US-headquartered and contribute significantly to the American economy. “We will not tolerate the European Commission engaging in regulatory overreach to try and control American engines of innovation and economic growth,” said Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate.
President Trump has previously called EU digital penalties “overseas extortion” and threatened tariffs on countries implementing digital regulations he views as discriminatory toward US technology companies. The case could have broader implications for US-EU relations, the Justice Department warned.