$140M X Fine: EU Penalty Motivated by Jealousy, U.S. Fires Back

In Brief

• The U.S. FCC chair claims the EU’s $140 million fine against X was driven by jealousy.
• The European Commission says X violated Digital Services Act transparency rules.
• The dispute highlights longstanding tensions as major U.S. tech companies face EU hurdles.

Shedrach Kongvong 2025-12-05

A silent trade war has taken center stage between the U.S. and the European Union (EU) following the latter’s $140 million fine on X. In a shocking response, chairman of the U.S. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) says the fine was motivated by jealousy.

Brendan Carr in an X post said Europe only fined the platform for being a successful U.S. tech company rather than for violations. He added that the region has been held back by its own regulations which have suffocated its economy.

Once again, Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company.

Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize a continent held back by Europe’s own suffocating regulations. pic.twitter.com/EzeOWZRC2t

— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) December 5, 2025

U.S. Denies X Violations Leading to Fine

The European Commission today 5 December announced a fine equivalent of $140 million against X in a formal press release. According to the release, the platform violated the transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). It highlighted deceptive ‘blue checkmark’ design, lack of transparency in its advertising repository, among others.

Specifically, the release said the platform’s paid blue checkmark verification is deceptive, as it gives approval to account holders who pay without really finding out the identities of account users. It also added that X’s advertisement repository fails to meet the transparency and accessibility requirements of the DSA.

However, Carr ignored the allegations leveled against X and alleges that the fine was baseless and only because X was a successful U.S. company. In response, an X user said the requirements of the European Commission are reasonable and don’t punish success, just like the ones the FCC or Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has for successful companies.

That is a misrepresentation. The public disclosures the @FCC or @FEC or @SEC require of successful public companies don’t punish them for success.

The @eucommission found @X violated the Digital Services Act that applies to all companies in the European Union by failing to meet…

— Alexander B. Howard (@digiphile) December 5, 2025

European Commission’s Sanctions Against U.S. Companies

Europe has a long history of placing fines and strict regulations on U.S. tech companies, which may be why the FCC chair alleges witch hunting. One of the companies worst hit by European fines is Meta, which last year said it was appealing a massive $840 million fine the commission placed on it.

Apple has also suffered regulatory hurdles in the region, which delayed the launch of its products such as the Live Translation Airpods which only came to the EU recently after they were launched in the U.S. for a long time.