EU ready to defend €120m fine against X as US seeks to intervene
The European Union says it is ready to defend its €120 million fine against X after the United States asked a top court to intervene on Elon Musk's side in the legal challenge. The dispute centres on the European Commission's December 2025 decision, which was the first penalty issued under the Digital Services Act. The case is now before the General Court of the European Union in Luxembourg.
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EU spokesman Thomas Regnier said the Commission had a "very solid case" and was "absolutely ready to defend its position in court". He said the institution had substantial evidence and stressed that the judges would decide the matter independently. The US Justice Department filed an application backing X's bid to annul the Commission decision, arguing that the case raises questions about how territorial jurisdiction should be understood in international law.
The fine followed a two-year investigation under the Digital Services Act, the bloc's online content law that requires platforms to do more to tackle illegal and harmful material. European Commission tech chief Henna Virkkunen said the penalty was proportionate and based on the nature and gravity of the infringements, the number of EU users affected and the duration of the breaches. Under the law, fines can reach up to 6% of a company's annual global revenue.
The case matters because it is testing how far EU digital rules can reach into the operations of major US-based platforms. It also adds to wider transatlantic tensions over online regulation, with Washington now formally seeking to support Musk and X in the challenge. For Brussels, the case is a high-profile defence of the Digital Services Act and of its ability to enforce platform rules across the bloc.
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X, formerly known as Twitter, is contesting the penalty imposed over alleged breaches of the EU's online content rules. The Commission has also accused the platform of failing to provide transparency around advertising and of denying researchers access to public data, according to the earlier filing in the case. The current dispute is therefore part of a broader legal fight over platform accountability, user protection and the reach of European regulation.
What happens next will depend on whether the court allows the US to intervene and how it handles the underlying challenge from Musk and X. It is not yet clear how much weight the judges will give to the jurisdiction arguments raised by the Justice Department. The Commission has said it is prepared to defend the fine, and the case is likely to remain a closely watched test of EU digital enforcement.
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