The European Commission has today announced its preliminary findings indicating that X, formerly known as Twitter, has breached the Digital Services Act.
Following an extensive investigation, including the review of internal documents and expert interviews, the Commission has concluded that X’s interface for “verified accounts,” marked by the “Blue checkmark,” is alleged to mislead users.
The current design allows any user to subscribe and obtain a “verified” status, which is supposed to signify authenticity. However, this practice has been exploited by malicious actors to deceive users, undermining their ability to make informed decisions about account authenticity and content interaction.
The Commission has also found that X fails to comply with the DSA’s transparency requirements for advertising. Instead of providing a searchable and reliable advertisement repository, X has implemented design features and access barriers that hinder transparency.
Moreover, X does not provide the necessary access to its public data for researchers as stipulated by the DSA.
The platform’s terms of service prohibit independent data access methods like scraping, and the process for gaining API access is cumbersome and expensive. This restricts researchers from conducting independent studies and analyses.
The European Commission’s preliminary findings inform X of its potential breaches, allowing the company to review the investigation documents and respond in writing. This step is part of the due process before any final decision is made. The European Board for Digital Services will also be consulted in parallel.
If these preliminary findings are confirmed, the Commission could formally decide that X is in breach of Articles 25, 39, and 40(12) of the DSA. Such a decision could lead to fines up to 6% of X’s global annual revenue and mandate corrective measures.
The Commission has recently established a whistleblower tool, which enables anonymous reporting by employees and others with inside knowledge to aid in monitoring compliance by VLOPs.
Other platforms under investigation include TikTok, AliExpress, and Meta, with formal proceedings initiated between February and May 2024.
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If only the CRTC had teeth like this