The U.S. Justice Department has joined the legal fight over X’s $137 million European Union fine, filing a motion to contest the penalty. The General Court of the European Union imposed the sanction in December 2025, accusing X of breaking the Digital Services Act by selling blue verification badges without proper identity verification. The ruling claims these badges deceived users into believing accounts were authentic, increasing risks of scams, impersonation, and coordinated manipulation.
The court further criticized X for failing to provide clear details about its ad targeting system and for blocking researchers from accessing platform data. These failures, the decision argues, undermined both user trust and independent scrutiny of the service. At the time of the fine, U.S. officials condemned the EU’s move, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio calling it an unjustified attack on American businesses and free expression.
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The Justice Department’s intervention escalates the conflict, arguing that the EU exceeded its legal boundaries by regulating a company with no direct operations in the bloc. Assistant Attorney General Brett A. Shumate stated that the European Commission’s action sets a dangerous precedent, potentially forcing U.S.-based platforms to comply with foreign rules even when they lack physical presence in those markets. The filing explicitly warns that affirming the fine could disrupt how global companies manage regulatory differences across jurisdictions.