EU Fines X €120 Million for Violations Under Digital Services Act
The European Union has fined the social media platform X €120 million (approximately £105 million) for deceiving users by allowing paid blue verification without meaningful identity verification. Regulators stated that this paid verification misleads users and exposes them to risks such as impersonation and scams. The decision also addressed issues including a lack of advertising transparency and the platform's blocking of researchers from accessing public data, violations under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
This fine marks the EU's first non-compliance decision against a platform under the DSA, which governs platform content, data, and advertising. The DSA works alongside the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which focuses on how platforms should operate to benefit consumers and competition. The European Commission has mandated that X must outline a plan to bring its practices into compliance or face periodic additional fines.
US Vice President JD Vance criticized the EU for this action, stating that it punishes American companies over perceived censorship concerns.
