Elon Musk reacted sharply on Saturday after the European Union imposed a heavy fine on his social media platform X, telling his 230 million followers that the EU should be “abolished”.
The comments followed a major investigation widely seen as a test of the EU’s determination to regulate Big Tech. On Friday, the platform owned by the world’s richest person was fined 120 million euros ($140 million) for violating the bloc’s digital regulations.
The penalty was quickly criticised by the US administration of Donald Trump, who, during his presidency, had aligned closely with Musk in controversial efforts to cut federal spending and reduce the government workforce, before their relationship later deteriorated.
Musk responded publicly after the fine was announced, writing on X that the European Union should be dismantled and sovereignty returned to individual countries so governments could better represent their citizens.
After another user reposted his statement, Musk replied that he was serious and not joking. In a separate post, he added that he loved Europe but not what he described as the bureaucratic structure of the EU.
The fine against X marked the first sanction issued by the European Commission under the Digital Services Act related to online content.
According to the Commission, X breached the Act’s transparency requirements. It said violations included the misleading design of the platform’s blue checkmark for accounts presented as verified, as well as a failure to provide researchers with access to public data.
The Commission also stated that X did not meet required standards of transparency regarding its advertising practices.
Khaborwala/SS
