Elon Musk compares EU to Nazi Germany over X fine

(MENAFN) Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has sharply criticized the European Union, likening it to Nazi Germany after X, his social media platform, was fined €120 million ($163 million) for allegedly violating transparency rules under the 2022 Digital Services Act.

The EU said X failed to maintain clear advertising disclosures and misled users with its blue checkmark verification system. Musk responded with a post featuring the EU flag peeling away to reveal the Nazi flag, captioned “The Fourth Reich,” and called the bloc a “bureaucratic monster” slowly “smothering Europe to death.” He also suggested that the EU should be dissolved, returning sovereignty to member states.

Musk received backing from top U.S. officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the fine as “an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments,” while U.S. Ambassador to the EU Andrew Puzder condemned it as censorship and burdensome regulation targeting U.S. companies.

The EU, however, defended its ruling. Commission Executive Vice President Henna Virkkunen stressed that the fine targeted the platform’s actions, not the region, saying that misleading blue checkmarks, opaque ad information, and restricted researcher access “have no place online in the EU.”

MENAFN08122025000045017640ID1110450834