Elon Musk’s X Faces $1B EU Fine Over Disinformation — Apple and Meta Also Under Fire for DMA Breaches

• The EU is preparing to issue its first fines under the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
• X could receive the first DSA fine of over a billion dollars.
• Meanwhile, more modest DMA penalties are expected to be levied against Apple and Meta.

In 2022, the EU passed the Digital Services Act (DSA) and the Digital Markets Act (DMA) in a two-pronged legislative attack directly targeting Big Tech.

Now, the European Commission is starting to flex its new regulatory muscles, with the first penalties imposed under the DSA and DMA expected to hit X, Meta and Apple soon.

Digital Services Act vs. Digital Markets Act

The DSA and DMA create complementary regulatory frameworks for the EU’s digital services sector.

The DSA is focused on preventing illegal and harmful activities online. For example, it requires platform operators to ensure the safety of children and prevent the spread of misinformation.

On the other hand, the DMA is focused on ensuring fairness in digital markets. It is primarily an anti-monopoly instrument designed to prevent so-called gatekeepers from abusing their market power.

So far, seven companies have been designated gatekeepers under the DMA: Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Booking, ByteDance, Meta and Microsoft.

X Faces Billion-Dollar DSA Fine

In July 2024, the European Commission issued its first preliminary findings under the DSA against X.

“X does not comply with the DSA in key transparency areas,” the EU’s antitrust tzar at the time, Margrethe Vestager, wrote, “by using dark patterns and thus misleading users, by failing to provide an adequate ad repository, and by blocking access to data for researchers.”

On April 3, the New York Times reported that lawmakers were approaching a decision on possible enforcement action against X.

According to sources, the Commission is considering a fine of more than a billion dollars. It is also likely to seek changes to prevent the spread of disinformation on X.

DMA Probes Target American Tech Giants

Once equipped with new DMA powers, the European Commission didn’t waste time investigating allegedly anti-competitive business practices by U.S. Big Tech firms.

Probes into Apple and Alphabet center on an issue that has long been a point of contention for European regulators—app store rules that critics argue unfairly stifle alternative platforms.

Meanwhile, Meta is being investigated over its “pay or consent” model for social media advertising, which requires users to either hand over their personal data or pay for ad-free browsing on Facebook and Instagram.

Apple and Meta DMA Decision Looms

According to media reports, the European Commission’s investigations into Apple and Meta are drawing to a close.

In terms of financial penalties, the two gatekeepers are expected to get away with “modest” fines that fall significantly short of the maximum amount the DMA allows for.

As with the case of X’s DSA fine, the looming decisions against Meta and Apple will play out against the backdrop of an escalating transatlantic trade war.

President Donald Trump has been a vocal critic of the EU’s digital regulation, which he argues erects unfair trade barriers for American businesses.

With the EU maintaining a significant surplus in the trade of goods with the U.S., digital services are one area where it has significant leverage to retaliate against Trump’s recent tariffs.