If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. X has filed a legal challenge against a $140 million fine the European Commission handed down in December, making it the first large company to contest the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA) in court. The appeal, lodged at the EU’s General Court, argues X was denied due process and subjected to a biased enforcement process. This is a direct challenge to the Commission’s authority to define and punish disfavored speech at scale. The DSA is a controversial mechanism. Under it, Brussels can fine tech companies up to 6% of their global annual revenue for failing to remove content the Commission decides is “disinformation,” “illegal,” or otherwise problematic. Who decides what those categories mean? The Commission does. The same body that writes the definitions also runs the investigations and levies the fines. There is no external review and no independent adjudication before penalties land. X’s Global Government Affairs team didn’t soften its language: “This EU Decision resulted from an incomplete and superficial investigation, grave procedural errors, a tortured interpretation of the obligations under the DSA, and systematic breaches of rights of defense and basic due process requirements suggesting prosecutorial bias. X remains committed to user safety and transparency while defending our users’ access to the only global town square.” The law leans heavily on non-governmental organizations to advise regulators on what content may cross the line under EU standards, then places extensive reporting and compliance obligations on platforms to act on that advice. Third parties help set the bar, the Commission enforces it, and companies that push back risk fines large enough to alter business decisions. Alliance Defending Freedom International, which does a lot of good work, is supporting the legal challenge. Its senior European counsel, Adina Portaru, didn’t hedge: “X is where millions of people go to freely express their views. This is a crackdown on X by authorities who view a free speech platform as a serious threat to their total control of online narratives. By targeting X, they are targeting the free speech of individuals across the world who simply want to share ideas online free from censorship.” Portaru’s broader concern is the precedent. “If the Commission’s concentration of power goes unchallenged, it will further cement a highly problematic standard for speech control across the EU and beyond,” she said. The Trump administration and congressional Republicans have both pushed back against the DSA. Speaking in December while the fine was fresh, President Trump said, “Look, Europe has to be very careful. They’re doing a lot of things…Europe is going in some bad directions. It’s very bad for the people.” Last week, House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan said his committee is looking at legislation that would protect American companies from penalties under foreign speech laws. The committee has already released documents that reveal the EU pressured tech companies to develop guidelines governing legal speech. If you're tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. The post X Challenges EU’s $140 Million Digital Services Act Fine in Court appeared first on Reclaim The Net.