EU slaps €120M fine on Elon Musk's X, straining ties with US

The European Commission on Friday imposed a €120 million fine on Elon Musk's X, the first-ever penalty issued under the bloc's flagship content moderation law.

The move is likely to inflame tensions with the U.S. over the bloc's digital rules and prompted early criticism from U.S. Vice President JD Vance, who blasted the plans as a fine for "not engaging in censorship."

While the fine's size is moderate compared to earlier tech penalties issued by Brussels, the U.S. has repeatedly pushed the EU to water down its tech rule books in trade talks.