US officially sided with X and Musk in legal dispute with European Commission

The US government officially supported X and Elon Musk in their legal dispute with the European Commission over the application of the European Digital Services Act. The US Department of Justice filed with the General Court of the EU an application to intervene in the case on the side of the plaintiffs, who seek to annul the European Commission's decision.

The US Department of Justice reported this. The cases involve X Internet and X Holdings against the European Commission, as well as a separate lawsuit by Elon Musk.

The dispute arose after the European Commission's decision of December 5, 2025, which fined X 120 million euros for violating DSA requirements. The Commission cited three main violations: presenting the paid "blue check" as a sign of a verified account, insufficient transparency of the advertising repository, and restricting researchers' access to public data of the platform.

This was the first European Commission decision on non-compliance with DSA requirements. In Brussels, they stated that the fine was determined taking into account the nature of the violations, their duration, and the number of users in the EU. The European Commission published the details of the decision back in December of last year.

The US government now challenges not so much the requirements for X's operations, but the way the European Commission determined liability and calculated the fine. The US Department of Justice stated that Brussels, in their opinion, too broadly applied its jurisdiction to American companies and directly to Musk.

In particular, Washington objects to the use of the concept of a single economic group under the ultimate control of Musk or X Holdings to determine liability. The American side believes that such an approach allows regulatory consequences to be extended to the owner and other related companies that do not directly provide the digital service that is the subject of the case.

"The Commission's approach extended legal scrutiny directly to Mr. Musk as a private individual and affected certain American companies under his control", - stated the US Department of Justice.

The agency warned that the outcome of the case could have implications for other large American digital platforms operating in the European Union.

However, X has already begun to address some of the EU's claims regarding the platform's operations. In July 2026, the European Commission approved X's plan of corrective measures regarding the advertising repository and researchers' access to data. The company, in particular, agreed to improve ad search, expand information about advertisers, and simplify researchers' access to public data.

Meanwhile, the legal challenge to the European Commission's decision and the fine is ongoing. The US statement means that Washington seeks to officially join the proceedings and present to the General Court of the EU its own position on the limits of European digital regulation.

Based on materials from: US Department of Justice, European Commission