The EU has informed X, a social media platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk, that it breached the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which could result in sanctions.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, said its preliminary findings showed X was in violation of its new online rules in areas linked to dark patterns, advertising transparency, and data access for researchers.
“In our view, X does not comply with the DSA in key transparency areas, by using dark patterns and thus misleading users, by failing to provide an adequate ad repository, and by blocking access to data for researchers,” the EU’s competition chief Margrethe Vestager said.
The use of a blue checkmark for “verified accounts” deceived users since anyone can subscribe to obtain such status, the Commission said in a statement. It said there’s evidence such accounts are exploited by malicious actors.
This follows seven months of investigation as part of the formal proceedings opened against X in December last year. The platform is also being investigated for the dissemination of illegal content and the effectiveness of its measures to combat information manipulation.
If the Commission confirms its findings, X could be fined the amount equivalent to 6% of its global annual turnover and ordered to take measures to address the breach. Some observers suggested that X could be banned in the EU if it refuses to cooperate.
“X now has the right of defense – but if our view is confirmed we will impose fines and require significant changes,” said Thierry Breton, the EU’s commissioner for internal market.
Similar proceedings were opened against TikTok, AliExpress, and Meta.
Under the DSA, which entered into force in November 2022, all were defined as very large online platforms. They’re required to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public security and protect their services against manipulative techniques.
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