X has taken retaliatory action against the European Union Commission following a major regulatory penalty. The EU issued its first-ever fine under the Digital Services Act (DSA) against the social media company, totalling €120 million.
The European Commission cited “deceptive” practices with X’s paid blue checkmark system, stating it leaves users vulnerable to scams. It also found X’s advertising repository lacked the required transparency. X now has 60 days to fix the verification issues and 90 days to rectify ad transparency flaws or face further penalties.
After the announcement, X owner Elon Musk called the fine “bullshit” and posted “AbolishTheEU.” Subsequently, X appears to have penalised the Commission’s official account on the platform.
JUST IN: X terminates EU Commission ad account for taking advantage of an exploit to "artificially increase its reach." pic.twitter.com/oyKEf9SEDK
— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) December 7, 2025The company claims this penalty is unrelated to the fine. Instead, X’s Head of Product, Nikita Bier, accused the Commission of exploiting a platform tool. He stated the Commission accessed a dormant ad account to use a flaw in the Ad Composer. This reportedly allowed a post to appear misleadingly as a video, artificially boosting its reach.
Bier directly responded to the Commission’s post about the fine. He wrote, “As you may be aware, X believes everyone should have an equal voice on our platform. However, it seems you believe that the rules should not apply to your account.”
Read: Elon Musk Calls for EU Abolition After Historic €120 Million DSA Fine Against X
He confirmed the Commission’s ad account had been “terminated.” Bier later noted the exploit “has never been abused like this” and claimed the technical issue is now resolved.
An EU spokesperson told TechCrunch the Commission used “the tools that platforms themselves are making available.” They stated that these tools must comply with both platform terms and EU law.
