EU vs X: US government is now actively interfering in EU case law
The US government is now getting involved in the dispute between the European Union and Platform X. The Justice Department wants to join Elon Musk’s appeal proceedings and accuses the EU of undue interference in the business of US companies.
US government gets involved
In the EU, Elon Musk’s short message service X is confronted with all sorts of investigations and criminal proceedings. Now the US Department of Justice has made an official request to join an appeal process between the European Union and Elon Musk’s short message service X. In this way, the Trump administration is trying to actively influence case law within the Union. The background to the dispute is a fine of 120 million euros. The EU Commission imposed the sanction on the basis of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The authority accuses the platform of violating transparency regulations, insufficient data access for researchers and misleading design of the verification system with blue ticks.
USA sees authority exceeded
As the Financial Times reports, the US Department of Justice criticizes the actions of the European supervisory authorities. Assistant US Attorney General Brett Shumate accuses the Commission of improperly extending its regulatory power to American companies that are not based in its jurisdiction. US President Donald Trump has even described European fines against US companies as blackmail from abroad in the past.
A central point of contention in the current proceedings is the basis for calculating the penalty. The US authorities complain that the procedure was extended to Musk as a private individual and to other companies owned by him. The EU calculated the penalty based on the total global sales of all Musk companies. In March 2025, X initially merged with Musk’s artificial intelligence company xAI. The space company SpaceX then took over the construct in advance of an IPO in June 2026.
Other European procedures
The EU is currently investigating further potential legal violations at X. This also includes the risk assessment when integrating the chatbot Grok for European users. According to the supervisory authorities, the procedure was inadequately documented. Apple is also taking action against a fine of 500 million euros that was imposed for anti-competitive behavior in the App Store. Supporters of European legislation see the penalties as an instrument to force global platforms to be more responsible.
Critics from the USA argue that the approach violates the principles of free expression. However, the current active intervention of the US Department of Justice represents a new level of escalation and further increases transatlantic tensions over the regulation of the technology sector.
