European Commission threatens social networks with further fines
7 December 2025 11:22
The European Commission plans to complete several investigations into large technology companies under the EU Digital Services Act (DSA) in the near future. This was reported by the Vice-President of the European Commission for Technological Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, Hanna Virkkunen, after a meeting of EU ministers on digital issues in Brussels, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing DW.
Commenting on the European Commission’s decision to fine the microblogging service X, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, Virkkunen said that “more decisions will be made in the coming months.”
“In most of the investigations, we have already published preliminary findings, and the next step will be to encourage these online platforms to comply with our rules,” she said. If the companies do not do so, there will be a “non-compliance decision” that may include a fine, the European Commissioner warned.
European Commission fines social network X for €120 million
On December 5, the European Commission fined social network X €120 million. This fine was the first to be imposed for violating the provisions of the Digital Services Act, which came into force in the European Union in August 2023. According to the European regulator, the social network develops and uses its interface for verified accounts with a “blue tick” in an incorrect way, as a result of which users may doubt the authenticity of profiles and the reliability of the content published there. In addition, according to the EC, the microblogging service does not comply with advertising transparency requirements and does not provide regulators with access to public data.
The European Commission gave X 60 days to take measures to correct the violations related to the “blue tick” and 90 days to address the issues of advertising transparency and access to data.
Strong reaction of the US administration to the fine
The decision to impose the fine has angered many American politicians and officials, who have previously criticized the European Digital Services Act as restricting freedom of speech and freedom of enterprise. US Vice President James DiVance wrote in X that the platform is being punished for “not censoring” and added: “The EU should be supporting free speech, not attacking American companies over nonsense.”
