US backs Musk’s X in legal battle with EU

The tech mogul is contesting a $120 million fine imposed by the Brussels bloc under its DSA censorship laws The US government has joined Elon Musk’s appeal against an EU fine imposed on X, accusing Brussels of “regulatory overreach” and escalating a transatlantic clash over its regulation of US tech firms.The European Commission fined X €120 million ($136.51 million) for alleged violations of its 2022 Digital Services Act, the first such penalty under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a vast legislative censorship and media control apparatus. Brussels accused the platform of breaching rules on transparency, advertising, and data access, as well as using a deceptive blue-tick system for verified accounts.Musk, who has claimed the EU’s tech regulations stall technological progress and equated the bloc to a “Fourth Reich” over them, appealed the decision in February, seeking to overturn the fine.On Thursday, the US Department of Justice said it had filed an application to intervene in support of Musk’s legal challenge.“The European Commission inappropriately attempted to expand its regulatory authority to reach American companies not present or operating within its jurisdiction,”...