European Commission on Friday imposed a staggering 120 million euro ($140 million) fine on Elon Musk’s social media platform X, marking the first-ever non-compliance penalty issued since the bloc’s sweeping digital rulebook entered into force two years ago.

The Commission accused X of three serious violations of the DSA’s transparency obligations, declaring that the platform’s practices exposed European users to heightened risks of scams, manipulation, and coordinated disinformation campaigns through deceptive design choices implemented after Musk’s 2022 acquisition.

Central to the ruling was X’s controversial paid blue-check verification system, which regulators condemned as a “deceptive design practice.” Previously reserved for genuine public figures under Twitter’s old regime, the iconic badge is now available to any subscriber paying $8 monthly, rendering it meaningless for distinguishing authentic accounts and leaving users vulnerable to impersonation and fraud.

Also Read: Anupam Kher to Elon Musk: Why Did I Lose 9 Lakh Followers Overnight? Grok Reveals the Truth

Additional breaches concerned X’s advertising repository, which the Commission found deliberately undermined by excessive processing delays and restrictive access barriers, preventing effective scrutiny of political advertisements, targeted campaigns, and potential illicit content. Regulators also slammed the platform for erecting “unnecessary obstacles” that block independent researchers from accessing public data essential for identifying systemic risks to European democracy and security.

“Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU. The DSA protects users,” declared Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy. The decision, which could escalate transatlantic tensions under the incoming Trump administration already critical of Brussels’ regulation of American tech giants, underscores the EU’s determination to enforce accountability on even the most powerful digital platforms.

Also Read: Musk Declares Future Where Paid Work Turns into a Hobby Driven by AI Abundance