NEW DELHI: The European Union’s executive arm on September 25 said it is prepared to defend a 120 million euro ($137 million) fine against the social media platform X after the US government threw its support behind a legal effort by Elon Musk this week to have the case dismissed.
The European Commission fined X late last year for breaches of the bloc’s landmark digital regulations, stoking tensions with Washington.
The US Justice Department said on September 24 that it had ¿led an application to support X’s bid to have the case annulled at the European Union’s General Court. It was the second time in three months that the Justice Department has intervened to defend a company owned by Musk.
Trump and the world’s richest businessman appeared to dial down a war of words that stunned Washington and Wall Street alike last year after Musk called Trump’s tax breaks and spending cuts a “disgusting abomination.”
Musk on September 24 attended a state dinner held by Trump honoring China’s leader Xi Jinping. The EU ¿ne against X, which followed a two-year investigation, was the frst penalty issued under the bloc’s digital regulations governing online content. Regulators said X’s blue checkmarks broke the rules because they involved“deceptive design practices” and could expose users to scams and manipulation.
The commission is the top enforcer of the 27-nation EU’s Digital Services Act, which requires tech companies to clean up their online platforms.
