GOP House Committee Publishes EU Justification for $143M X Fine

Is X a threat to European democracy or is the EU suppressing free speech through regulatory overreach?

Published 1 day ago

GOP House Committee Publishes EU Justification for $143M X Fine

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Above: The logo of the social network X on the screen of a smartphone placed on a surface reflecting the European Union (EU) flag in Creteil, France, on Jan. 16, 2026. Image credit: Samuel Boivin/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Spin

Right narrative

The Commission's justification has been exposed as a fraud. The Digital Services Act punishes platforms that refuse to hand over American data to European bureaucrats and threatens total EU bans for minor technical differences in ad cataloging. This extraterritorial overreach targets X specifically for permitting free debate on topics like migration that European officials want suppressed.

House Judiciary Committee Republicans on X

Basil the Great on X

Left narrative

X's deceptive verification practices, advertising opacity and blocking of researcher access represent deliberate manipulation tools that threaten democratic discourse across Europe. While fining X for these violations addresses symptoms, the Commission must go even further to dismantle core algorithmic manipulation that distorts political visibility and electoral outcomes.

Tech Policy Press

Thierry Breton on X Euractiv