After calling for the abolition of the European Union (EU) over a $140 million fine on X, billionaire Elon Musk on Sunday asserted that his social media platform had become the leading source of news in EU countries.
On Sunday, Musk initially tweeted, "X is seeing record-breaking downloads in many countries in Europe," before going on a tirade against the bloc, which was also criticised by officials of the Donald Trump administration following the announcement of the penalty.
"The European Union is not DEMOcracy – rule of the people – but rather BUREAUcracy – rule of the unelected bureaucrat! (sic)," the Tesla and SpaceX chief wrote in continuation of his criticism of the EU.
Shortly afterwards, Musk declared that X was "Now number 1 in every EU country!".
The source of Musk's declaration was a post by Tesla Owners Silicon Valley, which announced, "BREAKING: X just became the #1 source for news in every single EU country — Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden."
"The same 27 countries trying to regulate, fine, and silence it… now rely on it more than any legacy outlet or state media. You can’t make this up (sic)," the group added.
Mint could not independently confirm the claim made by the group and re-shared by Musk.
Why was X slapped with a $140 million fine?
The $140 million penalty on X by the EU was for alleged violations of the bloc's strict content and transparency rules, which were enforced in August 2023. The rules essentially regulate what big tech companies can and cannot do when it comes to content moderation and the handling of user data.
Announcing the fine, the EU said that X had been penalised over the "deceptive design" of its blue checkmark, in addition to a lack of transparency in the social media platform's ads repository.
The EU also said that X had failed to fulfil its obligations to provide researchers to the platform's public data, something that is mandated under the Digital Security Act (DSA).
"Moreover, X's processes for researchers' access to public data impose unnecessary barriers, effectively undermining research into several systemic risks in the European Union," the EU said.
EU slammed by Musk, Trump admin
Following EU's decision to penalise X, Musk went on the offensive, calling for the bloc's dissolution.
“The EU should be abolished and sovereignty returned to individual countries, so that governments can better represent their people (sic),” the billionaire wrote on X, and followed up with several posts on the EU's shortcomings.
“Europe is sleep-walking into oblivion,” wrote Musk in one post.
He went on to share a post equating the bloc with the “Fourth Reich”, before continuing his attack.
“The tyrannical, unelected bureaucracy oppressing the people of Europe are in the second picture,” Musk wrote on Sunday, sharing a post.
Following the imposition of the fine, officials of the Donald Trump administration also sharply criticised the EU, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio labelling the move an “attack” on US tech companies.
“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,” wrote Rubio in a post that was shared by US Vice President J D Vance.
“The days of censoring Americans online are over,” Rubio added.
