Vice President JD Vance expressed his concerns about the European Union’s (EU) alleged plans to fine Elon Musk‘s X and called out its censorship and attack on American companies.
Vance Stands Up For Musk
Vance took to X late Thursday and wrote, “Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech, not attacking American companies over garbage.”
Palantir (NASDAQ:PLTR) co-founder Joe Lonsdale commended Vance’s stance and wrote, “Thanks for standing up to them.”
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EU’s Likely Action On X
JD Vance’s comments come amid a late November report by Agence France-Presse that the EU may fine Elon Musk's X platform by the end of 2025 for violating digital rules, two years after launching its first-ever probe under a major online content law, though no penalties have yet been imposed.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, Ireland's media regulator launched a probe into TikTok and LinkedIn, citing concerns that their content reporting systems are hard to access or don't allow anonymous reporting of child sexual abuse material. The probes, under the EU's Digital Services Act, will examine potential legal violations by platforms based in Ireland.
Washington Clashes With EU Over Big Tech Fines
The EU has a history of imposing hefty fines on U.S. tech giants for various reasons, including antitrust violations and tax issues. These actions have sparked political backlash in Washington and have the potential to ignite new trade tensions between the U.S. and the EU. In November, during a visit to Brussels, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick called on the EU to relax digital regulations in return for reduced steel tariffs.
On Sept. 7, the EU fined Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) $3.5 billion for antitrust violations. This move was criticized by President Donald Trump as an attack on American companies.
In June, Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) and TikTok challenged the EU’s supervisory fees under the Digital Services Act, arguing that the fee calculations are flawed and unfairly inflate their charges. In April, the EU had imposed a fine of nearly $800 million on Meta and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) for violating the bloc’s new antitrust regulations.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
