Ilon Musk has called for the EU to be "cancelled" after a fine for X from the European Commission

US billionaire Ilon Musk has reacted strongly to the European Commission's decision to fine his social network X 120 million euros. In his post on X, he called for the "abolition of the European Union" and the return of sovereignty to individual countries so that governments can "better represent the interests of their citizens".

The fine was imposed under the Digital Services Act (DSA) for "misleading" use of the "blue tick" - any user could buy "verified" status without the social network properly verifying accounts.

US officials immediately stood up for Musk. US Vice President J.D. Vance said that X was allegedly being fined for refusing to censor.

The EU should protect freedom of speech, not pick on American companies for petty things," he said.

For his part, Secretary of State Marco Rubio called the fine "an attack by foreign governments on all American technology platforms and the American people."

The European Commission, however, emphasised: the Digital Services Act has nothing to do with censorship, and the fine is about the transparency of X's work. European Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho said, "Disagreeing with the way some in the US perceive the DSA does not change the essence of the law."

The conflict has become a new round of tension between Musk and European regulators, fuelling debate about free speech, the influence of US technology and EU power.