The European Commission has announced that X, the social platform owned by Elon Musk, must pay a fine of €120 million, roughly $140 million, after being found in breach of several key transparency rules, Reuters is reporting.
The violations include a misleading verification system using the “blue checkmark” badge, inadequate transparency around advertising, and restrictions on researcher access to publicly available data. Specifically, the badge allowed any user to pay for a “verified” status without verifying the actual identity behind the account.
In addition the platform’s advertising repository failed to meet the DSA’s standards for clarity and accessibility. The repository lacked vital information such as the content, purpose and sponsor of ads, and provided slow or overly restrictive access to researchers and civil society, thereby limiting external scrutiny of potential misuse through ads.
Finally, X imposed blockers on researchers wishing to scrape or access public data, breaching DSA provisions that demand transparency and data availability for academic or journalistic examination.
The commission emphasized that the fine is neither a matter of censorship nor a punitive overreaction. According to EU digital policy chief Henna Virkkunen the penalty was “modest but proportionate,” calculated based on the severity, duration and scale of the infringements across EU users.
At the same time the commission confirmed that another major platform, TikTok, avoided a fine after committing to enhance transparency in its advertising library. Regulators accepted binding assurances that TikTok will meet DSA standards going forward.
The ruling against X also draws international attention and criticism. Some U.S. officials argue the EU is unfairly targeting American technology companies. Still the commission insists compliance with digital standards is about safety, transparency and equal treatment, not national origin.
Under the DSA, companies face fines as steep as 6% of global revenue if they fail to comply. X now has between 60 and 90 days to propose remedial actions across the different violations, depending on the issue.
Want to see more of our stories on Google?
P.S. Want to keep this site truly independent? Support us by buying us a beer, treating us to a coffee, or shopping through Amazon here. Links in this post are affiliate links, so we earn a tiny commission at no charge to you. Thanks for supporting independent Canadian media!
