28 February 2026
Elon Musk has launched a legal challenge against the European Union after his social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), was issued with a €120 million fine in December.
The case, now before the EU's General Court, is widely regarded as the first major fine imposed under the controversial Digital Services Act (DSA). Mr Musk is appealing the decision in what is shaping up to be a landmark battle over free expression and regulatory overreach in Europe.
The DSA has faced mounting criticism from senior figures within the Trump administration, who argue that the legislation suppresses free speech among EU citizens and unfairly targets American technology companies. Since returning to the White House last year, President Trump has placed free speech at the centre of his foreign policy agenda.
In December, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied entry to five EU officials in what was widely seen as an escalation of a growing transatlantic dispute over online speech. Washington has accused Brussels of attempting to "censor" American platforms, while the Trump administration has repeatedly criticised what it describes as the EU's censorious digital regulatory framework.
In its appeal, X has accused EU officials of "prosecutorial bias" and is challenging several aspects of the DSA, legislation designed to tackle so-called hate speech and misinformation online.
The European Commission fined X after concluding that the platform had breached rules on advertising transparency. It also found that X's paid "blue tick" verification system was "deceptive". Following the ruling, X barred the European Commission from advertising on the platform, and Mr Musk publicly called for the abolition of the EU.
The case is significant not only because of the scale of the fine, but because it raises fundamental questions about how the Commission calculates penalties and whether sufficient checks and balances exist on its enforcement powers. The appeal may also prove to be a critical test of whether elements of the DSA are compatible with freedom of expression protections under European law.
Governments across Europe have increasingly scrutinised X, which many view as a more permissive free speech platform under Mr Musk's ownership. The company faces multiple investigations across the continent. In the UK, Ofcom is investigating X's AI tool, Grok, over concerns relating to the generation of sexualised deepfakes. The UK Government has indicated it would support Ofcom should it seek to block X from operating in the UK.
Adina Portaru, a lawyer at ADF International — which is supporting X in its appeal — said:
"This is a crackdown on X by authorities who view a free speech platform as a serious threat to their control of online narratives. By targeting X, they are targeting the free speech of individuals across the world who simply want to share ideas online without censorship.
"If the Commission's concentration of power goes unchallenged, it will further entrench a deeply problematic standard for speech control across the EU and beyond."
Read more in The Telegraph.
