EU Commission fines X €120 million for breaches of the Digital Services Act
The European Commission has fined Elon Musk's social media platform X €120 million for breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA), making it the first non-compliance ruling since the enforcement of the DSA began in 2023.
The breaches cited in the ruling include the use of a deceptive blue-tick verification badge, a lack of transparency regarding advertisements, and failure to provide researchers access to public data. Specifically, the fine is divided into €45 million for the blue-tick deception, €35 million for ad-regulation breaches, and €40 million for data-access issues affecting researchers.
Under the DSA, platforms are required to maintain a public list of advertisers to protect against scams and election manipulation; X failed to provide such a list. The investigation into these breaches began in December 2023 and this ruling closes part of it, although three other investigations remain underway concerning content and algorithms, incitement to violence, and the reporting mechanism for illegal content.
Penalties under the DSA can be as high as 6% of a platform's worldwide revenue. X's 2024 revenue is estimated to be between $2.5 billion and $2.7 billion. The company now has 90 days to submit an action plan detailing how it will address these breaches and retains the right to appeal the decision.
The ruling also comes amid commitments from TikTok to provide advertising repositories to address similar transparency concerns under the DSA.
Regarding the blue tick verification, prior to Elon Musk's takeover, the blue tick was limited to verified accounts. After the change in ownership, X Premium subscribers could obtain a blue tick, which has contributed to the issue of deception cited by the EU.
The EU's decision has been described as potentially straining EU-US relations in tech regulation, with wider political context including mentions of Donald Trump.
