The European Commission alleged that X violated the Digital Services Act, a sweeping 2022 law mandating companies set up policies and procedures to remove posts deemed illegal.

Elon Musk. Allison Robbert / Pool via AFP-Getty Images

The European Commission said Friday it was fining Elon Musk`s social media app X with the equivalent of $140 million, saying that it had breached the bloc`s digital rulebook - a move that will likely draw the ire of the American government.

The European Commission found that X violated the Digital Services Act, a sweeping 2022 law that requires internet companies to aggressively combat hate speech and misinformation.

The law - one of the most far-reaching attempts to fight problematic material online - mandates that companies set up policies and procedures to remove posts deemed illegal by countries within the 27-country .

The penalty drew swift condemnation from Vice President JD Vance even before the European Commission announced it.

"Rumors swirling that the E.U. 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," Vance said in a post on X on Thursday afternoon.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X that the 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."

Musk did not immediately respond to NBC News` request for comment, but several hours before the European Commission released details on the fine, he shared an X post from Preston Byrne, which advocated for the passage of a U.S. bill that would allow companies and individuals to sue foreign entities in American court over claims of foreign censorship.

Called the GRANITE Act and written by Byrne, an attorney and head of compliance at a cryptocurrency company, it has been filed or is being considered in several state legislatures but does not appear to have been introduced formally at the federal level.

The European Commission, the E.U.`s executive branch, has said its laws do not target any nationality and that it is defending its digital and democratic standards.

After the fine was issued, Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission`s tech chief, said it was proportionate and calculated based on the nature of the infringements, their gravity in terms of affected E.U. users and their duration.

"I think it`s very important to underline that DSA is having nothing to do with censorship," Virkkunen told reporters, according to The Associated Press. Forthcoming decisions on companies which have been charged with DSA violations are expected to take a shorter time than the two years for the X case, she added.

But Brendan Carr, the chair of the Federal Communications Commission criticized the decision in a post on X. "Once again, Europe is fining a successful U.S. tech company for being a successful U.S. tech company," he wrote. "Europe is taxing Americans to subsidize a continent held back by Europe`s own suffocating regulations."

The proposed penalty nearly two years in the making came after regulators said in late 2023 that they had opened proceedings into X over suspected failure to combat content disinformation and manipulation. X was the first company to face such an investigation when the probe started.

At the start, regulators said the proceedings were about several issues including the alleged dissemination of illegal content "in the context of Hamas` terrorist attacks against Israel" and a suspicion that X had a "deceptive design" in how it handed out blue verification checks to paying users.

Musk, the wealthiest person in the world by some measures, has had rocky relations with European leaders even aside from the investigation into X. In January, the leaders of four European countries, including France and Germany, denounced his influence and warned that Musk should not involve himself in their nations` domestic politics.

Musk, a former close ally of President Donald Trump, has helped to fuel a wave of far-right candidates across Europe and the globe, although many of his candidates have fallen short of winning power.

X could appeal the commission`s findings in European courts.

In April, after rumors spread that the commission was on the verge of issuing a penalty against X, the company said it was prepared to fight.

"If the reports that the European Commission is considering enforcement actions against X are accurate, it represents an unprecedented act of political censorship and an attack on free speech," the company said in a post on X.

"X has gone above and beyond to comply with the EU`s Digital Services Act, and we will use every option at our disposal to defend our business, keep our users safe, and protect freedom of speech in Europe," the company said.