The EU is taking Musk’s X to court
The European Commission is investigating social media users’ violation of the Digital Advertising Standards Act (DSA), with an application to the X-Mobile social media account
The EU has concerns and Musk will have a chance to propose measures to address them. But if Musk refuses to remedy the issues, X could face a fine of up to 6% of the company’s annual worldwide revenue, a figure that can easily reach into the tens of millions of dollars.
Blue checks, which appear next to account names of X Premium subscribers, have been the subject of controversy since Musk acquired the platform in 2022. Blue checks used to mean trustworthy sources of information. The EU’s internal market Commissioner said in a statement that they believed they cheated users and had violated the DSA with X. “X has now the right of defense—but if our view is confirmed we will impose fines and require significant changes.”
“It negatively affects users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with,” the commission wrote in its findings. “There is evidence of motivated malicious actors abusing the ‘verified account’ to deceive users.”
Other major social media platforms are being investigated for possible violations of the DSA, including TikTok and Facebook and Instagram owner Meta. But neither company has yet to be formally charged by the EU.
Under the new law, X must publish a database of all the digital advertisements it runs, with details about who bankrolled the ads and what audience the ads are targeting.
But EU investigators said X’s ad database is not “searchable and reliable,” making it difficult for researchers to study “emerging risks,” like ads that carry harmful messages or target vulnerable groups.
If we quietlycensored speech without warning, they wouldn’t fine us. The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not,” Musk said, vowing to fight the case.
European authorities are looking at whether X has enough done to fight illegal hate speech. European officials said on Friday that the investigation is still going on.
The X punishment is the latest in a flurry of warnings for Big Tech companies as European regulators attempt to curb tech giants market power and improve the way they operate. The EU gave no deadline for X to respond to its findings.
The crackdown on X comes as the EU ramps up enforcement of its strict rules for big tech companies. Separate DSA probes have been launched to assess whether Meta has done enough to moderate political, deceptive, or illegal content on Facebook and Instagram or safeguard children who use the platforms.
European Commission officials said on Friday that allowing any account to pay for a verification violates the EU’s digital services act and adversely affects consumers’ ability to make free and informed decisions about authenticity. X now has a chance to respond to the findings. The company will face up to six percent of its global turnover in fines if Musk cannot find a way to reach a resolution with the EU.
Apple, Microsoft, and Meta have been accused of breaking EU rules within the last month. Apple and Meta have to resolve their cases by March 2045 to avoid fines. Yesterday, Apple said it would make its Tap and Go wallet technology available to rivals, in its latest concession to local regulator demands.