Elon Musk’s X bans European Commission from making ads after €120m fine

X blocked the European Commission from advertising on its platform; The move comes just days after Elon Musk fined his site €120 million (£105 million) for blue checkmarks.

Nikita Bier, who has a senior role on the social media site European Union (EU) blames regulator He was accused of trying to “exploit” “an exploit” in the advertising system to promote his post about the fine on Friday.

“You apparently believe the rules should not apply to your account,” he said. “Your ad account has been terminated.”

A European Commission spokesperson told BBC News that the Commission “always uses all social media platforms in good faith”.

X’s fine on Friday was the first under the EU’s Digital Services Act.

The EU regulator said the platform’s blue tick system was “deceptive” because the firm “does not verify users in any meaningful way”.

“This scam exposes users to scams, including impersonation scams, and other forms of manipulation by malicious actors.” he said.

He alleged that X also failed to provide transparency about its advertising and did not allow researchers access to public data.

The social media platform has been given 60 days to respond to the Commission regarding concerns about blue checkmarks or face additional penalties.

Following the fine, Elon Musk posted on his platform stating that the EU “should be abolished” and retweeted another X user’s response comparing it to fascism.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Accused EU regulator of attacking and censoring US firms“The days of Americans being censored online are over,” he adds.

The dispute arose from Mr Bier, who accused the Commission of activating a rarely used account “to benefit from abuse”.

He claimed that he posted a link that deceived users into thinking it was a video “to artificially increase its reach.”

He said the “abuse”, which had “never been so abused”, had now been removed.

Advertising accounts on X are used by businesses to create and analyze paid advertising campaigns and to publish “promoted” posts on the site, separate from users’ X profile.

In response, a European Commission spokesperson told BBC News that it “uses the tools that the platforms offer to our corporate accounts”.

“We expect these tools to be fully compliant with our legal framework as well as the platforms’ own terms and conditions,” he said.

And it’s not the first time there has been a falling out between X and global regulators.

in 2024 Brazilian Supreme Court lifts X’s ban After agreeing to pay 28 million reais ($5.1 million; £3.8 million) and blocking accounts accused of spreading false information.

previous year, Australia’s internet security watchdog fined He was awarded AU$610,000 (US$386,000; £317,360) in damages for failing to cooperate with an investigation into anti-child abuse practices.