Brussels, 26 September, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – The European Commission says it is ready to defend the X €120m fine in court after the United States formally sought to intervene in legal challenges brought by Elon Musk and companies linked to his social media platform.
The US Department of Justice filed its intervention request on 24 September before the EU’s General Court in Luxembourg. Washington is supporting applications seeking to annul the Commission’s 5 December 2025 decision against X.
US backs Musk and X in EU court dispute
The Commission fined X €120 million for breaches of transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). EU regulators identified three areas of non-compliance: the design of X’s blue checkmark system, shortcomings in its advertising repository and failures concerning researchers’ access to public data.
The US intervention concerns X Internet and X Holdings v Commission, Case T-114/26, and Musk v Commission, Case T-121/26. The Justice Department said it has concerns about how the Commission determined which companies could be treated as providers of digital services and held liable under the DSA.
European Commission says its case is solid
European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier responded to the US move during the Commission’s midday briefing in Brussels on 25 September.
“We have a very solid case that we have advanced indeed with the €120 million fine against X.”
Regnier added that the Commission was “absolutely ready to defend its position in court”.
He said the dispute would not change the Commission’s approach to enforcing EU law, describing the DSA as part of the bloc’s “sovereign right to legislate”. Regnier said the Commission was enforcing its legislation “objectively, transparently” and had substantial evidence available, while stressing that the independent court would ultimately decide the case.
US challenges Commission’s regulatory approach
Washington has presented a sharply different position.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said the Commission had sought to extend its regulatory authority to US companies that the Justice Department says are not operating within the relevant EU jurisdiction.
“We will not tolerate the European Commission engaging in regulatory overreach to try and control American engines of innovation and economic growth.”
The Justice Department also objected to the Commission’s treatment of Musk and other companies within his ownership structure when determining liability and calculating the financial penalty.
Fine is a major test of the Digital Services Act
The X €120m fine was the Commission’s first non-compliance fine under the DSA, giving the proceedings wider importance for the EU’s regulation of major online platforms.
X and Musk are contesting the Commission decision, and the EU court records the Musk case as pending. The allegations raised by the applicants remain legal arguments and have not been upheld by the General Court.
General Court will consider US intervention
The General Court must now deal with Washington’s request to intervene while the underlying challenges proceed.
The Commission says it will defend the X €120m fine using the evidence gathered during its investigation. Regnier also said on 25 September that the US move would not, from the Commission’s perspective, affect the EU-US tariff arrangement. No judgment on the merits of the challenges has yet been issued.
