U.S. President Donald Trump called the European Union’s €120 million fine against Elon Musk-owned social media platform X “a bad fine,” saying he did not understand how such a decision could be justified.
The EU’s technology regulators imposed the fine last week for violations of online content rules.
“Europe is heading in some wrong directions,” Trump told reporters during an event at the White House, adding that he expected to receive a full report on the fine later in the day.
“I don’t understand how they can do this,” the U.S. President said, emphasizing that Musk had not contacted him for assistance. “Europe needs to be very careful,” he added.
According to Reuters, Musk publicly opposed the penalty on his platform last week, commenting “Wrong” under the European Commission’s announcement of the fine and reposting critical messages about the decision.
“Freedom of speech is the foundation of democracy. The only way to know what you are voting on,” Musk wrote.
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FCC Chair Brendan Carr, condemned the decision, calling it an attack on American companies.
EU Technology Chief Henna Virkkunen defended the measure, describing it as “proportionate,” while the European Commission emphasized that the legislation is not aimed at any specific nationality but protects “digital and democratic standards.”
Meanwhile, TikTok, which faced similar accusations in May regarding ad deposits, avoided a fine by promising improvements and requesting that rules be applied equally across all platforms.
