The European Union has formally accused Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) of violating the Digital Services Act (DSA), marking the first major case under the new EU law designed to regulate online content and protect users. The European Commission’s preliminary investigation has identified several areas of concern, primarily focusing on X’s blue checkmark system, advertising transparency, and data access for researchers.According to the EU, X’s blue checkmark system, which allows any user to obtain a ‘verified’ status through subscription, is misleading and can be exploited by malicious actors to deceive other users. The Commission argues that this practice does not align with industry standards and undermines users’ ability to make informed decisions about the authenticity of accounts they interact with.Furthermore, the EU claims that X has failed to provide a transparent and accessible advertising archive, as required by the DSA. The Commission states that the platform’s ad database is neither searchable nor reliable, hindering efforts to monitor political advertising and misinformation.The third major concern raised by the EU is X’s alleged failure to provide researchers with sufficient access to public data on the platform. This access is crucial for independent analysis of harmful content and the spread of misinformation.Thierry Breton, the EU’s industry chief, stated, ‘X now has the right to defense – but if our opinion is confirmed, we will impose fines and require significant changes’. If the preliminary findings are confirmed, X could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue.This case against X is part of a broader effort by the EU to enforce the DSA, with investigations also launched into other major platforms such as TikTok, AliExpress, and Meta. The EU’s actions reflect growing concerns about the role of social media platforms in spreading misinformation, hate speech, and other harmful content.
Key points
- The EU has formally accused X of violating the Digital Services Act, focusing on its blue checkmark system, ad transparency, and data access for researchers.
- If confirmed, X could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue.
- This case is the first major enforcement action under the EU’s new Digital Services Act.
- The EU is also investigating other major platforms like TikTok, AliExpress, and Meta for similar issues.
