Virkkunen said that they estimated the size of the fine to be “proportionate” and said it was calculated considering “the nature of these infringements, their gravity in terms of affected EU users, and their duration.”
Asked to clarify how the EU calculated the amount, a senior Commission official repeated the idea of proportionality and said that it cannot be “drilled down to a simple economic formula.”
Brussels has been under growing pressure from EU leaders, European Parliament lawmakers and digital rights groups to wrap up the investigation into X to show that it’s protecting its citizens online.
U.S. officials have repeatedly attacked the DSA as amounting to censorship and threatened to retaliate with trade tariffs. On Thursday night, Vance said again that the EU should not be attacking American companies.
“Rumors swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship. The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,” Vance wrote on X. “Much appreciated,” Musk said in response.
When asked about Vance’s remarks, Virkkunen told reporters: “The DSA is having not to do with censorship, this decision is about the transparency of X.”
X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TikTok spokesperson Paolo Ganino told POLITICO: “We take our obligations under EU law seriously and reiterate our call for a level playing field. We expect these DSA standards to be applied equally and consistently across all platforms.”
