BRUSSELS — U. S. Vice President JD Vance has hit out at the EU’s digital rules enforcement, saying the EU should not be “attacking American companies over garbage.”

“Rumors swirling that the EU 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 wrote on X overnight.

X owner Elon Musk immediately thanked the U.S. official, commenting, “Much appreciated.” 

The European Commission opened formal proceedings against X under its Digital Services Act in December 2023, roughly a year after Musk bought Twitter and rebranded it as X.

But the EU has yet to finalize its probe, after accusing X of breaching its obligations around transparency and blue checkmarks in preliminary findings in July 2024. A decision could come as early as Friday, according to media reports Thursday.

Under the EU rules, companies can be fined up to 6 percent of their annual global turnover.

French President Emmanuel Macron last week voiced concerns about the slow pace of Brussels’ probes into American tech giants, adding to a growing chorus of criticism that the bloc has been too slow to enforce its flagship Digital Services Act amid U.S. pressure.

Washington has repeatedly asked the EU to roll back its digital rule book as part of trade negotiations, and last week U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick put this on the table again as an explicit exchange for scrapping tariffs on steel and aluminum in ongoing talks.

Asked earlier Thursday how she feels about a looming diplomatic showdown if she slaps a fine on a U.S. tech giant, Commission digital chief Henna Virkkunen told POLITICO: “I’m quite calm in different situations. I’m not surprised about anything. I’m protecting our laws. But at the same time we are going to make Europe faster and simpler and easier for businesses.”

Asked if she’s afraid of the U.S.’s reaction to a fine under the DSA, Virkkunen responded with a single word: “No.”