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Elon Musk could face a hefty fine as European regulators look at including revenues from the billionaire’s business empire to calculate a potential fine against social media platform X.

Under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), a landmark piece of legislation aimed at setting the rules on how tech companies should police the internet, companies that fail to curb illegal content and disinformation face penalties of up to 6 per cent of their annual global turnover. 

The European Commission is considering whether revenue from Musk’s other businesses, such as SpaceX and Neuralink, should also be included, in a move that would dramatically increase the potential penalty.

While no final decision has been made, the EU wants to impose fines that are high enough to prevent X from repeatedly breaking the law, said two people familiar with its thinking.

Musk and X have been under intense scrutiny from regulators in Brussels. In 2023, the commission opened a probe into the social media platform over the spread of illegal content and disinformation, in particular terrorist and violent content, in the wake of the Hamas attacks of October 7 last year. 

However, these people stressed that the commission had not yet decided to fine X and that the potential size of any penalty was still being discussed. They added that the commission had not yet concluded that X had broken the law.

X did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The social media platform will have the opportunity to challenge any potential fine. X can also take the EU to court if it thinks that the actions taken by the commission are illegal, these people said.

AFP first reported that the EU was considering whether to include revenues from Musk’s other businesses.

A commission spokesperson said: “The obligations under the DSA are addressed to the provider of the very large online platform or very large online search engine. This applies irrespective of whether the entity exercising decisive influence over the platform or search engine is a natural or legal person.” 

Regulators said earlier this year that X’s practices had not complied with the DSA in several areas, such as prohibiting the use of dark patterns — a deceptive technique used to manipulate user behaviour — as well as allowing data access for researchers. It also hit out at X’s decision to allow people to acquire a “checkmark” once reserved for verified users.

Other media platforms are also under scrutiny as the EU uses the new powers granted by the DSA, which was approved last year and imposes new obligations on very large online platforms with more than 45mn users in the bloc. In May, the EU accused Meta of not doing enough to protect children from becoming addicted to social media platforms.

MILLIONS of people who suffer from health conditions can get financial help by applying for Personal Independence Payments (PIP).

But you may not know that there are other benefits you can claim at the same time.

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PIP is worth up to £184.30 a week, or £9,583.60 a year, which can make a huge difference to your home.

Read on to find out how it works and if you can claim.

What is PIP?

PIP is a benefit which is paid by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).

It is designed to help you cover day-to-day costs if you are suffering from a long-term health condition.

You can claim it if you have both a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability and difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or mobility problems because of your condition.

You can claim it even if you are working, have savings or receive other benefits.

PIP is split into two parts and you can get both depending on your circumstances.

The daily living part is paid to people who need help with everyday tasks such as preparing food, using the toilet, washing, eating and drinking.

The mobility part is given to those who need help getting around, for example working out a route and following it, leaving your home or physically moving around.

You do not need to have a disability to claim the mobility part.

If you have a cognitive or mental health condition such as anxiety then you may also be eligible.

How much will I get?

The amount of money you receive will depend on how difficult you find everyday activities and getting around.

There is a lower and higher rate for both payments.

The Daily living part has a lower rate of £72.65 a week and a higher weekly rate of £108.55.

Meanwhile, the mobility part has a lower rate of £28.70 and a higher weekly rate which is £75.75.

PIP payments are tax-free and the amount you will get is not affected by your income or savings.

Payments are usually made every four weeks directly into your bank account.

You will be assessed by a health professional to calculate the level of help you can receive and your rate is regularly reviewed to ensure you are getting the right support.

Can I claim other benefits while I get PIP?

You can get other benefits while receiving PIP.

These top-ups are known as a premium and you can only get them if you receive the following benefits:

• Housing Benefit
• Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income Support
• Working Tax Credit

You can also get Employment and Support Allowance and Pension Credit but only if you get the PIP daily living component.

You could get up to £42.50 a week in disability premiums for a single person or £60.60 for a couple.

If you are entitled to the severe disability premium you will get £81.50 a week for a single person or £163 a week as a couple.

Meanwhile, those who are entitled to the enhanced disability premium will get £20.85 a week for a single person or £29.75 for a couple if at least one of you is eligible.

To claim the top ups contact the office in charge of your benefits, tell them you receive PIP and ask them if there is any other help you are entitled to.

They should be able to tell you how much extra you will get.

You may need to send them a copy of your PIP award letter to prove you are receiving the benefit.

Receiving a disability premium will not reduce the amount of PIP or any other benefits you get.

It’s a good idea to ask the DWP what extra you are entitled to and how to apply for it.

If you get PIP then it will not affect the amount you get in Universal Credit.

But unlike the other benefits you will not get an extra top-up if you receive PIP and Universal Credit at the same time.

You will need to make a claim for both benefits separately.

To check whether you are entitled to any benefits use the calculator on the Turn2Us website.

Citizens Advice can help you check if you are eligible to claim PIP and other benefits.

Visit your local centre for more information.

What other freebies can I get on PIP?

There are several other discounts and exemptions you can get if you claim PIP, including free prescriptions and capped water bills.

You could apply for a blue badge, which will make you exempt from certain parking restrictions and will give you access to designated parking spaces.

To apply visit the Government website or contact your local council.

If you have a condition which requires you to use lots of water then you could get capped bills.

You will need to be on a water meter to be eligible.

Every supplier has their own scheme so get in touch with them to see if any support is available.

You may be able to get a council tax discount if you receive the daily living or mobility part of PIP.

Get in touch with your local council to find out whether you are entitled to a discount.

If your disability requires you to make changes to your home then you may be able to apply for a disabled facilities grant.

You will need to be assessed to check whether you are eligible as not everyone who receives PIP can apply.

Visit the government website to apply.

You may also be able to claim free prescriptions, depending on your medical condition.

Not all conditions qualify so check the NHS website for more information.

Contact your local council to see whether you qualify for a disabled person’s bus pass.

These are distributed by your local council as part of the English National Concessionary Travel Scheme.

If you receive the mobility element of PIP at the standard rate then you can get a 50% reduction on any vehicle tax you pay.

The vehicle on which you receive the discount must be registered in the disabled person’s name.

You can claim the discount when you apply for vehicle tax.

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The UK government has launched a highly anticipated consultation to bring “buy now, pay later” lenders under the scrutiny of the Financial Conduct Authority and the Consumer Credit Act.

The new regulation would allow the finance watchdog to apply rules on affordability, meaning that BNPL providers including Klarna and Clearpay would have to check that shoppers were able to afford repayments before offering a loan.

“We promised to take action before the election and now we are delivering,” said Tulip Siddiq, economic secretary to the Treasury. “Our approach will give shoppers access to the key protections provided by other forms of credit while providing the sector with the certainty it needs to innovate and grow.”

BNPL loans have soared in popularity in recent years by offering consumers the ability to spread their payments in short-term instalments with no interest. However, the sector has remained unregulated, meaning providers do not have to run affordability checks on prospective users.

Consumer groups have warned that the current regime can lead people to accrue large debts from late repayment fees on products from different providers.

Research commissioned by the Centre for Financial Capability, a UK-based financial education charity, found that almost a quarter of BNPL loans were charged late repayment fees in the six months to December 2023.

The UK government first said it would regulate interest-free BNPL loans in February 2021. The Treasury ran a consultation in early 2023 and announced plans to regulate the sector.

However, the previous Conservative government announced a delay in implementing draft legislation in July 2023, sparking criticism from the Labour party.

“Millions of people use buy now, pay later to manage their finances, but the previous government’s dither and delay left them unprotected,” said Siddiq on Wednesday.

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Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.

Israel said on Thursday it may have killed Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, the architect of the deadly October 7 attack last year.

The Israel Defense Forces said it was examining the possibility that Sinwar was one of three militants it killed “during IDF operations in Gaza”.

“At this stage, the identity of the terrorists cannot be confirmed,” the Israeli military said in a statement, noting that there were no signs of hostages in the building where the militants were killed.

If confirmed, Sinwar’s death would be a pivotal moment in Israel’s year-long war in Gaza, delivering a devastating blow to Hamas and a symbolic victory to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel has already killed many of Hamas’s military leaders over the past year in assassinations across the region. But Sinwar, who was believed to be hiding in Hamas’s vast tunnel network under Gaza, had been a more elusive target.

The circumstances and location of the Israeli military operation remain unclear.

The IDF is conducting a major ground offensive in Gaza’s north, primarily around the Jabalia refugee camp. But it has also said that it has recently killed militants in the southern Gaza city of Rafah and begun operations in the outskirts of the central refugee camps of Nuseirat and al-Bureij.

Sinwar took over leadership of Hamas this summer, after his predecessor Ismail Haniyeh was killed by an alleged Israeli explosion in Tehran in July.

The 62-year-old Sinwar, also known as Abu Ibrahim, is widely considered to have masterminded Hamas’s devastating cross-border assault on southern Israel last October together with Qassam Brigades chief Mohammed Deif.

Deif, along with much of the top Hamas military leadership in Gaza, was killed over the past year in Israeli air strikes.

Israeli officials had vowed that they would get to Sinwar too, describing him as a “dead man walking”.

On Thursday afternoon, Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant cryptically tweeted pictures of Deif and Hassan Nasrallah, the chief of the Lebanese militant group Hizbollah who was killed in a massive Israeli strike in Beirut late last month.

“Our enemies cannot hide. We will pursue and eliminate them,” Gallant tweeted, leaving open a black square between the photos of the two men.

Sinwar, originally from the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis, had helped build Hamas’s military wing, the Qassam Brigades, from its inception in the 1980s.

He then spent nearly two decades in Israeli prison but was released in 2011 as part of a swap deal for a seized Israeli soldier.

Once back in Gaza, he rose swiftly through the organisation’s ranks. He became the key interlocutor between the group’s political and military wings and ultimately assumed leadership over the entire Hamas-controlled territory.

MORE than a million benefits claimants with disabilities are set to lose out on the Winter Fuel Payment this year.

The cash, worth up to £300, is being dished out to people on certain means-tested benefits.

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Cuts made by Chancellor Rachel Reeves mean that only households claiming pension credit and a handful of other benefits are now eligible.

And now a fresh report has been published by the Social Security Advisory Committee looking at the impact of the Chancellor’s decision to change the eligibility criteria.

The move will reduce the number of people who receive a Winter Fuel Payment in England and Wales from 10.8million to just 1.5million.

The most recent available data from May 2023 shows that 2.6million State Pension recipients claim Attendance Allowance (AA), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

According to the report, at the same time more than half of Pension Credit claimants were also in receipt those three benefits.

While the committee found that people with a disability will be disproportionately likely to get the Winter Fuel Payment this year, the Department estimates that around 1.6million people with a disability will lose entitlement to the cash.

The report reads: “We consider it essential that the Department urgently reviews its current Pension Credit take-up campaign to ensure those receiving Attendance Allowance, Disability Living Allowance and Personal Independence Payment are sufficiently engaged and aware of the options available to them.”

It’s important to note that claiming Pension Credit will not affect your cash from other benefits like PIP, DLA and Attendance Allowance.

James Taylor, Scope’s executive director of strategy and social change, said the charity is concerned by the government’s decision on the winter fuel payment, which it says “will make life harder for older disabled people”.

He said: “While some disabled pensioners receive pension credit, there are an alarming number who will miss out this winter.

“We’d urge anyone who thinks they could be eligible to apply, or to get in touch with our helpline for advice.

“We desperately need a longer-term solution for the eye-watering energy costs many disabled people face, which is why we’re calling for the government to bring in discounted bills for disabled households.”

What can you get?

Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to £218.15 if you are single or to £332.95 if you have a partner – this is known as “guarantee credit”.

If your income is lower than this, you’re very likely to be eligible for the benefit.

However, if your income is slightly higher, you might still be eligible for pension credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs.

You could get an extra £81.50 a week if you have a disability or claim any of the following:

• Attendance allowance
• The middle or highest rate from the care component of disability living allowance (DLA)
• The daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP)
• Armed forces independence payment
• The daily living component of adult disability payment (ADP) at the standard or enhanced rate.

You could get the “savings credit” part of pension credit if both of the following apply:

• You reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016
• You saved some money for retirement, for example, a personal or workplace pension

This part of pension credit is worth £17.01 for single people or £19.04 for couples.

Pension credit opens the door to other support, including housing benefits, cost of living payments, council tax reductions and the winter fuel payment.

Claims for pension credit also open doors to a number of freebies and discounts.

For example, pension credit claimants over 75 qualify for a free TV licence worth up to £169.50 a year.

Claims for the benefit also provide eligibility to £25 a week cold weather payments and the £150 warm home discount.

We have a guide on all the state pension freebies and discounts you can get.

If you’re not sure if you will be able to get Pension Credit, you can use our handy tool to check what benefits you’re eligible for.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

Plus, you can join our Sun Money Chats and Tips Facebook group to share your tips and stories