Mon Dec 08 21:32:02 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary of the text, followed by a rewrite as a news article:

Summary:

U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized the European Union’s €120 million fine levied against Elon Musk’s social media platform X. The EU regulators stated X violated transparency obligations, including failing to provide researchers access to public data, maintaining an incomplete advertising repository, and using deceptive design for its blue checkmark verification system. Trump called the fine “nasty,” questioned its justification, and warned Europe to be careful. Musk dismissed the fine as “bullshit,” defending free speech. U.S. officials also denounced the fine. EU regulators defended the fine as proportionate and stressed the DSA has nothing to do with censorship.

News Article:

Trump Slams EU Fine Against Musk’s X as “Nasty”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 9, 2025 – Former U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed in on the European Union’s hefty fine against Elon Musk’s social media company, X (formerly Twitter). Trump, speaking at a White House event on Monday, December 8th, described the €120 million ($140 million) penalty as “a nasty one” and questioned the EU’s justification for the move.

“Europe is going in some bad directions,” Trump told reporters, adding that he was expecting a full report on the situation. “I don’t see how they can do that,” he said, noting that Musk had not contacted him for assistance. “Europe has to be very careful.”

The fine was imposed last week by EU tech regulators, who accused X of breaching online content rules. Specifically, regulators cited failures to provide researchers access to public data, maintaining an incomplete advertising repository, and the use of deceptive design practices related to X’s blue checkmark verification system.

Musk responded to the fine on his platform with a simple “Bullshit,” and reposted messages criticizing the EU decision. “Freedom of speech is the bedrock of democracy,” Musk wrote. “The only way to know what you are voting for.”

Several U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio and FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, have also voiced opposition to the fine, characterizing it as an attack on American companies.

EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen defended the penalty, asserting that it was proportionate to the violations and emphasized that the Digital Services Act (DSA), under which the fine was issued, “has nothing to do with censorship.” The European Commission maintains that the DSA does not target any nationality and it is merely defending its digital and democratic standards.

The controversy comes amidst growing scrutiny of social media platforms and their adherence to global regulations regarding transparency, content moderation, and user safety. Previously TikTok, charged in May for failing to maintain a public ad repository to help detect scam ads, avoided a fine by pledging improvements to its ad library and urged regulators to enforce the rules consistently across platforms.

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