Elon Musk's X Platform Bars European Commission After €120M Fine

Mon Dec 08 2025 21:05:41 GMT+0200 (Eastern European Standard Time)

In a contentious move, Elon Musk's social media platform X has restricted the European Commission from advertising on its site, following a significant fine imposed by the EU over misleading practices concerning blue tick verifications.

The European Commission faced a blockade on advertising from X, a decision that follows a hefty fine of €120 million. This fine, the first under the EU's Digital Services Act, was levied due to accusations that X's blue tick verification process was misleading users. Tensions escalated as X accused the Commission of exploiting its advertising system. The EU insists it used the platform's tools correctly. This incident underscores ongoing conflicts between social media companies and regulatory bodies over transparency and accountability in the digital advertising space.

X has blocked the European Commission from making adverts on its platform - a move which comes a few days after it fined Elon Musk's site €120m (£105m) over its blue tick badges.

Nikita Bier, who has a senior role at the social media site, accused the European Union (EU) regulator of trying to take advantage of an exploit in its advertising system to promote its post about the fine on Friday.

It seems you believe that the rules should not apply to your account, he said. Your ad account has been terminated. A European Commission spokesperson responded, stating that the Commission uses social media platforms in good faith.

X's fine, issued on Friday, was the first under the EU's Digital Services Act.

The EU regulator stated that the platform's blue tick system was deceptive because the firm was not meaningfully verifying users. This deception exposes users to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors, the EU said.

It claimed X was also failing to provide transparency around its adverts and was not giving researchers access to public data. The social media platform has been given 60 days to respond to the Commission about concerns surrounding its blue checkmarks or face further penalties.

Following the fine, Elon Musk posted on his platform to say the EU should be abolished, commenting that the EU regulatory actions resemble fascism.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) accused the EU regulator of attacking and censoring US firms, asserting that the days of censoring Americans online are over.

The dispute originated with Mr Bier, who accused the Commission of activating a rarely-used account to take advantage of an exploit. He claimed it had posted a misleading link, tricking users into believing it was a video to artificially increase its reach.

He stated that the exploit had been removed, and claimed it had never been abused like this.

Ad accounts on X are designed for businesses to create and analyze paid advertising campaigns separate from users' profiles.

The European Commission emphasized that it expected platforms to provide tools in full alignment with their terms and conditions.

This isn't the first dispute between X and global regulators, as previous fines in Brazil and Australia led to legal actions over misinformation and child safety practices, respectively.