The European Union (EU) has launched a fresh inquiry into social media platform X following its $33bn acquisition by Elon Musk’s xAI, as regulators assess a potential penalty under the Digital Services Act (DSA), according to Bloomberg.
The European Commission (EC) has sent new questions to X, focusing on its corporate structure post-acquisition.
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The deal, completed in March 2025, and valuing xAI at $80bn, brought X under xAI’s control.
Regulators are concerned that this deal could impact the scale of a potential fine under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
The DSA ties fines to global revenue, so the combined companies’ structure is under review. Penalties could reach 6% of a company’s annual global revenue for failing to address illegal content, disinformation, or transparency requirements.
The EC may announce X’s first DSA fine before its August recess, though delays are possible, sources familiar with the matter told the publication.
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By GlobalDataX could avoid a penalty by addressing the EU’s concerns, the report said.
“We are following closely changes in the corporate structure of X, as we would changes in any other designated platform,” the publication quoted EC spokesperson Thomas Regnier, as saying.
He confirmed a request for information was sent to X.
An X spokesperson did not respond to Bloomberg’s requests for comment.
The EU’s investigation into X’s alleged DSA breaches began in December 2023. Regulators criticised X’s changes to its blue checkmark system, previously used for verified public profiles.
The EC stated the changes “do not correspond to industry practice and deceives users.”
Concerns also include X’s advertising transparency and data access for researchers.
Regulators are also examining whether revenue from Musk’s other businesses, such as SpaceX, Neuralink, and The Boring Company, should factor into potential fines, Bloomberg reported in October.
Recently, X added a disclaimer to its blue checkmark programme in response to concerns from EU content regulators, who deemed the system misleading and in need of reform.
