Get your news from a source that’s not owned and controlled by oligarchs. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily. The European Commission announced Friday that it was fining Elon Musk, the richest person in the world, for the equivalent of $140 million, saying his company X had breached Europe’s Digital Services Act. The act, which took effect around the same time Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in 2022, is a kind of digital rulebook meant to crack down on illegal or potentially harmful content. Vice President JD Vance, before the fine was even finalized, slammed the commission, claiming that it was targeting US companies. “Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship,” Vance wrote on X Thursday. “The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.” “Much appreciated,” Musk responded. A key aspect of the alleged violation is how Musk handles account verification on his social media site. Musk’s X “allows users to subscribe to a tier of the platform that grants them a badge that had previously signified the person had been vetted and approved by X’s moderators,” the Washington Post reports. The European Commission said this system makes it “difficult for users to judge the authenticity of accounts and content they engage with.” “This deception,” the body continued, “exposes users to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors.” The commission also said X didn’t provide a transparent advertising repository, as the Digital Services Act requires, and “fell short of an obligation to let researchers access and analyze its public data,” per The Post. It doesn’t look like Musk will face similar issues in the US. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr claimed on X that, “Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company.” Musk reposted. “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,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote, adding, “The days of censoring Americans online are over.” Musk endorsed the post with a one word reply: “Absolutely.” Once again, Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company. Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize a continent held back by Europe’s own suffocating regulations. pic.twitter.com/EzeOWZRC2t