US seeks to join X and Elon Musk’s challenge to €120 million EU fine
The Justice Department says the EU’s penalty raises questions about jurisdiction and liability for US companies. The European Commission says it is ready to defend its decision.
The US Justice Department has asked to intervene in X and Elon Musk’s court challenge to a €120 million European Union fine. The request brings the US government into a dispute over how the EU applies its Digital Services Act to a platform owned by an American company. The court has yet to decide whether to admit the US to the case.
The department said it filed its application on 24 September in two cases before the EU General Court: X Internet and X Holdings v Commission, and Musk v Commission. It supports their requests to annul the European Commission’s 5 December 2025 decision. Filing an application to intervene does not itself overturn the fine or resolve the companies’ challenge.
Why the US wants to join the case
The Justice Department cited Article 40 of the statute governing the Court of Justice of the EU. Under that provision, it said, a state may intervene if it can establish an interest in the result. The US argues that the judgment could affect how territorial jurisdiction is applied to American digital services companies and how liability is attributed within corporate groups.
Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said the Commission had ‘inappropriately attempted’ to extend its regulatory authority to American companies that, in the department’s view, were outside its jurisdiction. That is the US government’s argument in the dispute, not a conclusion reached by the court. The department said it coordinated its application with the State Department because it sees implications for US–EU relations.
The department also disputes the Commission’s approach to identifying the provider of a digital service under the DSA. It argues that the decision reached Musk personally and implicated other American companies he owns, even though, it says, those entities were unrelated to the service at issue. Its objections include the reach of EU jurisdiction and the treatment of separate corporate entities.
According to the department, the €120 million fine was imposed jointly and severally and calculated using the worldwide annual turnover of what the Commission treated as a single economic unit ultimately controlled by Musk or X Holdings. The department describes the litigation as the first challenge to a DSA enforcement action to reach the General Court. Its concerns about the decision remain arguments for the court to consider.
What the EU fined X for
The Commission said in December 2025 that X had breached three DSA transparency obligations. Its decision covered the design of paid blue checkmarks, the transparency and accessibility of X’s advertising repository, and researchers’ access to public platform data. The Commission described the fine as its first formal finding of non-compliance under the DSA.
On blue checkmarks, the Commission said users could pay for a ‘verified’ status without X meaningfully checking who was behind an account. It argued that this made it harder for other users to judge an account’s authenticity and could expose them to impersonation scams and manipulation. The Commission said the DSA does not require platforms to verify users, but does prohibit falsely presenting accounts as verified.
The Commission also said X’s advertising repository had barriers including processing delays and lacked details such as an advertisement’s content, topic and paying legal entity. It said those gaps hindered scrutiny by researchers and the public. On researcher access, it said X’s terms and processes placed unnecessary barriers in the way of eligible researchers seeking public data to study systemic risks.
The Commission’s response and the next step
Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said on 25 September that the EU executive was ready to defend its position in court and had substantial evidence, according to Associated Press reporting carried by The Washington Post. AP also reported that Regnier described the Commission’s enforcement as objective and transparent and said the court would decide the case.
The immediate question is whether the General Court will allow the US to intervene. The recorded sources establish that the application was filed, but give no ruling on that request or timetable for deciding it. The court also has yet to resolve X’s and Musk’s requests to annul the fine. For readers following the dispute, BBC reporting on the US-backed challenge provides an account of the development alongside the government’s filing.
Sources and context
- US backs Elon Musk's bid to overturn €120m EU fine against XBBC
- United States Files Request to Intervene in Case Brought by X Corp. and Elon Musk Seeking to Annul Decision by European CommissionUS Department of Justice
- EU vows to defend its stand against X after the US backs a court challenge from Elon MuskThe Washington Post (Associated Press report)
- Commission fines X €120 million under the Digital Services ActEuropean Commission
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.
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