US Seeks to Back Musk's Legal Fight Against EU's €120 Million Fine on X
The US government has formally sought to join Elon Musk's legal challenge against a €120 million EU fine on X, arguing Brussels overstepped its regulatory reach.
The United States government has formally requested to join a legal challenge brought by Elon Musk against a fine of 120 million euros ($136.51 million) imposed by the European Union on his social media platform X.
The Justice Department said it filed the request on Thursday, seeking to take part in Musk's effort to have the penalty dismissed.
In a statement, Assistant Attorney General Brett Shumate, who heads the department's civil division, said the European Commission had "inappropriately attempted to expand its regulatory authority to reach American companies not present or operating within its jurisdiction."
The move marks a direct intervention by Washington in a dispute between a major American technology company and European regulators. The fine at the centre of the case was levied by the European Union against X, the platform owned by Musk.
The case is being watched closely as a test of how far the EU's regulatory powers extend over US-based firms, and of the willingness of the American government to contest those powers on behalf of its companies.