The US government is seeking to join Elon Musk's legal challenge to overturn a €120 million (£105 million) fine imposed by the European Commission on X, previously known as Twitter, regarding its blue tick verification system. In December 2025, the European Commission stated that the platform "deceives users" by allowing individuals to pay for a blue verified check mark without meaningfully verifying account ownership.
US Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate commented on Thursday that the commission had "inappropriately attempted" to extend its jurisdiction over American companies. Musk, who has financially supported Donald Trump and other Republicans, has previously asserted that EU tech regulations "inhibit progress" for businesses.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has submitted an application to the EU's General Court in support of Musk's and X's efforts to dismiss the case. The DOJ argues that, under a provision of the Statute of the Court of Justice of the EU, a state may intervene in disputes if it can demonstrate an interest in the case's outcome. The DOJ emphasized that the US "has a clear interest" in ensuring that any decisions made by the commission align with international law principles regarding territorial jurisdiction. Furthermore, it aims to prevent any potential prejudice against US-based digital services that significantly contribute to the US economy.
The European Commission has been approached for comments regarding the situation. In addition to the blue tick issue, EU regulators have accused X of lacking transparency in its advertising practices and restricting researchers' access to public data. Henna Virkkunen, the executive vice-president for tech sovereignty at the European Commission, stated that X is being held accountable for undermining users' rights and evading responsibility.
Virkkunen remarked, "Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads, and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU." US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) have criticized the EU's actions, claiming that the fine represents an attack on all American tech platforms. Rubio stated, "The European Commission's fine isn't just an attack on X; it's an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments." His comments were supported by Musk, who agreed with the statement.
The European Commission has denied any intent to target specific nationalities, asserting that its actions are aimed at protecting digital and democratic standards to maintain its position as a global benchmark. This case marks the Commission's first official non-compliance decision under the Digital Services Act (DSA), one of the two mandatory regulatory frameworks governing online platforms in the EU. Additionally, the EU is conducting several other investigations into X, including one concerning its integrated AI assistant Grok, amid concerns regarding the creation of sexualized images of real individuals.