X Users Skyrocket After European Union Slaps Elon Musk With $140M Fine
Now number 1 in every EU country! https://t.co/tQOpiPVRkw
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 7, 2025
The European Union’s attempt to penalize Elon Musk’s X platform may have completely backfired.
After the EU announced a hefty $140 million fine against X for alleged violations of the bloc’s Digital Services Act, downloads of the app skyrocketed across the continent. According to Musk, X has since become the most downloaded app in Europe, a trend he openly celebrated on Sunday.
“X is seeing record-breaking downloads in many countries in Europe,” Musk wrote in a post on the platform. He followed up by blasting the EU’s governing structure: “The European Union is not DEMOcracy—rule of the people—but rather BUREAUcracy—rule of the unelected bureaucrat!”
Brussels Targets X Over “Transparency Violations”
On Friday, the European Commission accused X of failing to comply with multiple transparency rules under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The EU claimed that X’s blue checkmark verification system is deceptive and misleading to users. Brussels also said X improperly blocked researchers and governments from accessing certain platform data, which the EU insists must remain open to scrutiny.
The $140 million fine marks the EU’s most aggressive action yet against Musk’s platform. But rather than damaging the company, the announcement appears to have unleashed a wave of new user growth, with European users flocking to download the app in defiance of government pressure.
X Fires Back
X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, accused the European Commission of exploiting a bug in X’s own ad system to amplify the EU’s announcement about the fine. In a scathing response, Bier claimed the commission misused X’s Ad Composer tool to post a misleading link disguised as a video—an exploit typically used to game the algorithm for maximum reach.
“The irony of your announcement: You logged into your dormant ad account to take advantage of an exploit… to artificially increase its reach,” Bier posted. “Your ad account has been terminated.”
Musk reposted Bier’s response, further fueling the backlash against the EU’s move.
U.S. Officials Slam the EU’s Attack
The EU’s punitive action has sparked outrage within the Trump administration, which sees the fine as part of a broader attack on American tech platforms and free speech.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio blasted the move, saying, “The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on [X], it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments. The days of censoring Americans online are over.”
Vice President JD Vance echoed the sentiment, calling the EU’s actions “garbage.”
“The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,” Vance posted, just a day before the fine was announced.
Growing Divide Over Speech and Regulation
The showdown between X and the European Union underscores a growing transatlantic divide over digital speech and regulation. Under President Trump’s second term, the U.S. government has increasingly taken a hands-off approach to tech regulation, focusing instead on fighting censorship and restoring First Amendment protections online.
The EU, meanwhile, continues to push sweeping regulatory control under the Digital Services Act, often clashing with Musk and other American tech leaders over how information should be managed on global platforms.
For now, X appears to be winning the public fight. And if download trends are any indication, the EU’s fine may have done more to elevate Musk’s platform than to weaken it.
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