X Shuts Down EU Ad After Deceptive Post Tricked Users Into Visiting Their Website [WATCH]

The European Commission announced that it has fined X for alleged violations of transparency requirements under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The announcement was issued Sunday through the Commission’s official X account.

“Today, we fined X for non-compliance with transparency obligations under the DSA,” the Commission stated.

The post listed three categories of alleged violations: “Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark,’” “Lack of transparency of its advertising repository,” and “Failure to provide access to public data for researchers.”

The Commission’s post appeared in a video-style format on X but redirected users to a separate European Union website containing a written announcement.

The Digital Services Act is the regulatory framework the European Union uses to impose content, transparency, and operational requirements on large digital platforms operating in EU jurisdictions.

Today, we fined X for non-compliance with transparency obligations under the DSA.

We’re holding X accountable for:
🔹Deceptive design of its ‘blue checkmark’
🔹Lack of transparency of its advertising repository
🔹Failure to provide access to public data for researchers

↓

— European Commission (@EU_Commission) December 5, 2025

This Could Be the Most Important Video Gun Owners Watch All Year

Officials from the Trump administration criticized the action shortly after the announcement.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the administration opposed efforts by the European Union to penalize “American tech platforms and the American people.”

The European Commission’s $140 million fine isn’t just an attack on @X, it’s an attack on all American tech platforms and the American people by foreign governments.

The days of censoring Americans online are over.

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) December 5, 2025

He said the administration considered the action an attempt at restricting speech and stated that “the days of censorship against Americans are over.”

Vice President JD Vance also commented publicly at the time the fine was reported, taking issue with the enforcement action against X. Further details of his remarks were not included in the exchanges available Sunday.

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.

— JD Vance (@JDVance) December 4, 2025

Nikita Bier, X’s head of product, replied directly to the European Commission’s announcement on the platform.

In his post, Bier said the Commission used its account to employ a technique that the Commission itself had labeled deceptive.

“The irony of your announcement:” Bier wrote. “You logged into your dormant ad account to take advantage of an exploit in our Ad Composer — to post a link that deceives users into thinking it’s a video and to artificially increase its reach.”

Bier continued, “As you may be aware, X believes everyone should have an equal voice on our platform. However, it seems you believe that the rules should not apply to your account. Your ad account has been terminated.”

You’re absolutely right that’s very deceptive, when you tap on it to watch the video, this is what happens and I’m showing it just as a historical record. Such a garbage move by the European commission. pic.twitter.com/sgcGaiirFO

— Gail Alfar (@gailalfaratx) December 7, 2025

The decision to terminate the Commission’s advertising account was confirmed in the same post.

X has not issued a separate public statement beyond the comments from Bier.

Bier has been responsible for several product changes to the platform, including features that display posting locations when enabled by the user.

X has said that such features provide additional transparency for identifying attempts by foreign actors to influence political discussions.

The Trump administration has said it will continue to oppose regulatory actions taken by foreign governments that it views as affecting American companies.