The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a request with the EU General Court (General Court of the European Union) to intervene in the dispute in which Elon Musk and platform X are seeking to annul a €120 million fine imposed by the European Union. The fine was imposed over the blue verification check system for user verification.
The European Commission announced in December 2025 that the platform "misleads users" by enabling payment for a blue verification badge while not conducting "meaningful verification" of the identity of the person behind the account. In addition to the blue checks, regulators also accused X of lacking transparency regarding advertising and of denying researchers access to public data.
Assistant US Attorney General Brett A. Shumate said on Thursday that the Commission "improperly attempted" to extend its reach to American companies beyond its control. The Department of Justice argues that under the Statute of the Court of Justice of the European Union, a member state may intervene in cases before the court if it "can demonstrate an interest in the outcome of the subject-matter."
The DOJ states that the United States has a "clear interest" in ensuring that every Commission decision is applied in accordance with the common understanding of territorial jurisdiction in international law. It also wants to prevent digital services headquartered in the US that "significantly contribute" to its economy from being "otherwise harmed."
Henna Virkkunen, executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, said at the time of the fine that the Commission "considers X responsible for undermining user rights and evading accountability." She added: "Deceiving users with blue checks, obscuring advertising information and excluding researchers have no place on the internet in the EU."
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Federal Communications Commission criticised the European regulator, accusing it of attacking American companies and censoring them. Rubio wrote on platform X that the fine is "not just an attack on X" but "on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments." He also stated that "the days of censuring Americans on the internet are over," and Musk reposted his words with the comment "absolutely."
The European Commission rejected claims that it was targeting any specific nationality, stating that it protects its digital and democratic standards. The decision was the first official Commission decision on non-compliance with obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The Union is simultaneously conducting other investigations against the platform, including into the AI assistant Grok.
