E.U. Prepares Major Penalties Against Elon Musk’s X
E.U. Prepares Major Penalties Against Elon Musk’s X
European regulators are considering fining X more than $1 billion, after weighing the risks of further antagonizing Mr. Musk and President Trump.
European Union regulators are preparing major penalties against Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, for breaking a landmark law to combat illicit content and disinformation, said four people with knowledge of the plans, a move that is likely to ratchet up tensions with the United States by targeting one of President Trump’s closest advisers.
The penalties are set to include a fine and demands for product changes, said the people, who declined to be identified discussing an ongoing investigation. These are expected to be announced this summer and would be the first issued under a new E.U. law intended to force social media companies to police their services, they said.
The European Union and X could still reach a settlement if the company agrees to changes that satisfy regulators’ concerns, the officials said.
X also faces a second E.U. investigation that is broader and that could lead to further penalties. In that investigation, two people said, E.U. officials are building a case that X’s hands-off approach to policing user-generated content has made it a hub of illegal hate speech, disinformation and other material that is viewed as undercutting democracy across the 27-nation bloc.