The European Commission has pledged to defend a 120 million euro fine against social media platform X after the US Department of Justice officially intervened in the case. The US government argues the EU’s Digital Services Act improperly targets American companies outside its jurisdiction, while Brussels maintains it is enforcing its laws objectively. This dispute escalates transatlantic tensions over tech regulation, with the EU citing evidence of deceptive design practices on X, specifically regarding its verification system.
The US Department of Justice has filed an application to intervene in the European Union's General Court, supporting Elon Musk and X in their bid to annul a €120 million fine. The US argues the EU's Digital Services Act improperly targets American companies outside its jurisdiction, while Brussels vows to defend its regulatory authority.
The US Department of Justice has officially intervened in Elon Musk’s legal challenge to annul a €120 million fine imposed by the European Commission on his social media platform, X. The US argues that the EU’s Digital Services Act improperly extends regulatory authority to American companies outside its jurisdiction, characterizing the fine as 'overseas extortion.' The European Commission, which issued the penalty in December 2025 for breaches of transparency and data access rules, maintains that it is defending its digital standards and is prepared to defend its position in the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg.
The US Department of Justice has officially joined Elon Musk’s legal challenge to annul a €120 million fine imposed by the European Commission on his social media platform, X. Filed with the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg, the intervention argues that Brussels improperly extended its regulatory authority to American entities not operating within its jurisdiction. The DOJ contends the fine calculation was flawed by including global revenue from Musk’s other ventures, such as SpaceX and xAI, rather than just X’s earnings within the EU. This move escalates a transatlantic dispute over tech regulation, with Washington characterizing the EU’s Digital Services Act as 'overseas extortion.' The original penalty, issued in December 2025, cited violations regarding transparency, data access, and the design of X’s verification system. While the EU defends its rules as necessary for digital standards, the US administration, including Vice President JD Vance, has criticized the fines as infringing on free speech and unfairly targeting American innovation. The case is part of a broader pattern of conflicts, including Apple’s appeal of a €500 million fine under the Digital Markets Act, highlighting growing tensions between Brussels and US tech giants.
The US government has officially joined Elon Musk's legal challenge to annul a €120 million fine imposed by the European Union on his social media platform, X. The Department of Justice filed an application with the EU's General Court in Luxembourg, arguing that Brussels improperly extended its regulatory authority to American companies not operating within its jurisdiction. This move escalates a transatlantic dispute over tech regulation, with Washington characterizing the EU's Digital Services Act as 'overseas extortion' that unfairly targets US innovation. While the EU defends its rules as necessary for digital standards, the US contends the fine calculation improperly included revenue from Musk's other global ventures, such as SpaceX and xAI.
The European Commission will unveil the EU KIDS Act to limit minors' access to social media and video-sharing platforms before age 15, introducing safe-by-design requirements and a tiered account system: under-13 accounts would be guardian-controlled, 13–15-year-olds would have restricted, supervised access with parental controls, and over-15 users could self-serve, alongside age-verification tech and education measures; enforcement would mirror the Digital Services Act and AI Act, with provisions for education, and the plan excludes educational tools, though negotiations are ongoing.
Adam Mosseri warned in Australia that turning off Instagram’s recommendation algorithm can cut engagement by up to 50% and reduce user satisfaction, a warning tied to Australia’s proposed Digital Duty of Care bill that would require prompts to disable ranking. The piece discusses how a chronological feed can overwhelm users with brands and how policy makers view engagement and time spent as harms, while noting Europe’s Digital Services Act push for non‑profiling feeds has seen modest adoption.
Brussels classified OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Reddit and Roblox as Very Large Online Platforms under the EU’s Digital Services Act, adding obligations to remove illegal content and safeguard minors’ privacy and security. With over 45 million EU users each, they face tighter scrutiny and could be fined up to 6% of global revenue if noncompliant by the end of December. The move broadens the DSA to generative AI and comes alongside AI Act enforcement.
The US settlement with Meta over teen safety requires changes to Facebook and Instagram for minors, including time limits, stricter age checks, and disabling cosmetic filters, across a decade. EU regulators say these steps fall short of the Digital Services Act’s ambitions and are pushing for default, across-the-board changes to met with stronger remedies targeting addictive design (autoplay, infinite scroll, personalized feeds). Meta says it will monitor the U.S. rollout and engage with EU authorities, but has not committed to extending the changes worldwide, risking further penalties under EU law if compliance isn’t achieved.
The European Commission fined AliExpress a record €550m for failing to adequately detect and curb illegal and unsafe products on its marketplace, marking the largest penalty under the Digital Services Act. A two-year investigation found weak detection systems, insufficient enforcement of penalties on traders, and product checks that could be easily circumvented. AliExpress plans to appeal and must present a remediation plan by 20 October.
The European Commission fined AliExpress a record $625 million under the Digital Services Act for failing to adequately assess and mitigate risks from illegal and counterfeit products, including understaffed moderation, easy evasion by sellers via miscategorization, ineffective brand authorization, and recommender/ads that amplified exposure; AliExpress plans to appeal, while EU officials stress that scale isn’t an excuse for failing to police online marketplaces.
Brussels fined AliExpress €550 million—the largest ever under the Digital Services Act—for failing to curb illegal and unsafe products, due in part to weak moderation and issues with its recommender/advertising systems; AliExpress has until Oct. 20 to present an action plan to address the infringements or face further penalties.
The European Union is weighing sweeping rules on children’s and teenagers’ access to social media, including possible age limits or bans and a requirement that platforms prove their services are not harmful for younger users. Ursula von der Leyen says proposals could come within months after a panel’s phased recommendations (no screens under 3, supervised use under 13, limits for older teens) and global momentum toward tighter online safety rules. The plan would still require approval from the European Parliament and member states, and regulators have already flagged Digital Services Act issues with Meta and TikTok.
EU regulators preliminarily found Meta’s autoplay, infinite scroll, and highly personalized content addictive and not adequately assessed for risks to users, especially minors, under the Digital Services Act; they urged Meta to disable these features by default, introduce screen-time breaks, and adjust its recommender system, with fines up to 6% of global turnover if it fails to comply; Meta disputes the findings but says it has teen protections and will defend its approach as the investigation continues.
The European Commission released preliminary findings that Meta’s Facebook and Instagram may violate the Digital Services Act due to addictive features like autoplay, infinite scroll and personalized recommendations, warning Meta has failed to address or warn users about the risks. Meta disputes the findings; if confirmed, it could face fines up to 6% of global revenue (potentially over $12 billion). The commission urges changes such as disabling autoplay and adjusting the recommender system, while Meta points to teen-safety features it has rolled out. The ruling is provisional and Meta will have an opportunity to dispute it.
