The richest man in the world gets a little slap and he’s super duper mad about it:
Elon Musk’s X was hit with a $140 million fine on Friday over alleged breaches of Europe’s Digital Services Act, the online safety law meant to protect the digital space by cracking down on illegal or potentially harmful content, in a move rejected by Musk and officials in the Trump administration in which he used to serve.
The fine stems from an investigation, launched in 2023, into X’s potential liability under the rules, which took effect about the same time Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, saying he wanted to promote free speech.
The European Commission cited X for its blue check-mark system, which allows users to subscribe to a tier of the platform that grants them a badge that had previously signified the person had been vetted and approved by X’s moderators. Musk’s management team put the new system into effect shortly after taking over, as Musk decried what he called a “lords & peasants system for who has or doesn’t have a blue checkmark.” […]
Musk said Friday that X aimed to “democratize verification.”
There were more reasons as well having to do with advertising.
Look who’s stepping in to defend their boy:
Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized the decision in advance of the announcement, casting it as a fine “for not engaging in censorship.”
“The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,” he posted on X Thursday night. Musk soon responded, “Much appreciated.” Vance, Musk and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr criticized the decision on Friday, taking to X to accuse Europe of “fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company” and attacking what he called the continent’s “suffocating regulations.” Musk reposted Carr’s criticism. Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the fine “an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.” “Absolutely,” Musk said on X, quoting Rubio’s comment.
Later Friday, Musk slammed the decision in a series of posts, pinning one to the top of his profile that read: “Freedom of speech is the bedrock democracy.” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick also jumped to X’s defense, alleging the DSA “is designed to stifle free speech and American tech companies.”
“We have made our position clear to our counterparts in Europe,” he added.
Mr. free speech not only wants to censor people he wants to prosecute them for speech he doesn’t like:
[F]ollowing the shooting of two National Guard members in D.C., Musk declared that “Falsely labeling non-violent people as ‘fascist’ or ‘Nazi’ should be treated as incitement to murder.”
They are looking for any excuse to split with Europe, even suggesting that we won’t defend them against Russia unless they bow down to Elon Musk:
“The nations of Europe cannot look to the US for their own security at the same time they affirmatively undermine the security of the US itself through the (unelected, undemocratic, and unrepresentative) EU,” Christopher Landau said on social media platform X on Saturday.
Prominent U.S. officials criticized Brussels after the European Commission slapped X with a €120 million penalty for breaching EU transparency rules earlier this week. Billionaire X owner Elon Musk, a major backer of U.S. President Donald Trump and the wider MAGA movement, threatened retaliation and called to “abolish the EU.”
Maybe it’s just trash talk, I don’t know. But these people are so extreme and so drunk with power I don’t think it’s wise to just discount what they are saying.