Online Content Regulations
Elon Musk’s social media platform X has been found in breach of the European Union’s online content law, according to preliminary findings by regulators that could lead to substantial fines for the company.
The European Commission, the executive arm of the 27-member bloc, announced on Friday that the platform is violating the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas related to “dark patterns, advertising transparency, and data access for researchers.”
The investigation, which began in December, reached its preliminary conclusions by analyzing internal company documents and interviewing experts.
The DSA requires large online platforms and search engines to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public security.
The Commission’s findings indicate that X, formerly known as Twitter, uses its “blue checkmark” in a manner that deviates from industry practices and “deceives users.”
“Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a ‘verified’ status, it negatively affects users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with.
There is evidence of motivated malicious actors abusing the ‘verified account’ to deceive users,” the commission stated.
Additionally, it found that X does not comply with required advertising transparency and refuses to provide a searchable and reliable advertisement repository.
X was also criticized for failing to provide independent access to public data to researchers as mandated by the DSA.
The platform’s process for granting eligible researchers access to its application programming interface (API) was designed in a way that dissuades researchers, according to the findings.
Musk responded to the European Commission’s announcement by alleging that the commission had “offered X an illegal secret deal” involving a quid pro quo—the company would not be fined if it agreed to quietly censor speech.
“The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not,” Musk wrote on X. The company will now have an opportunity to review the findings in detail and submit a formal response.
“X has now the right of defense – but if our view is confirmed, we will impose fines and require significant changes,” European Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a statement posted on X.
If the findings are ultimately confirmed, a noncompliance verdict could result in fines of up to 6 percent of the company’s total worldwide annual turnover.
Since Musk delisted the company after purchasing Twitter in 2022, its financial performance data are no longer publicly available.
The commission could also impose periodic penalty payments and implement periods of enhanced supervision. “The DSA has transparency at its very core, and we are determined to ensure that all platforms, including X, comply with EU legislation,” commission official Margrethe Vestager emphasized.
In 2024, the commission also initiated formal proceedings against TikTok, Chinese site AliExpress, and Meta, underscoring its commitment to enforcing the DSA across major online platforms.
