European Commission Fines Elon Musk's X €120 Million for Digital Services Act Breaches
The European Commission has fined Elon Musk's social media platform X €120 million for violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA), marking the first non-compliance decision under the new rules since their enforcement in 2023. The investigation, which started in December 2023, found multiple breaches related to transparency and safeguards.
The fine is broken down into €45 million for introducing a purchasable blue-tick verification deemed deceptive, €35 million for ad-regulatory violations including a lack of public advertiser transparency, and €40 million for failing to provide researchers access to public data. Under the DSA, companies like X can face fines of up to 6% of their worldwide revenue, with X's estimated 2024 revenue between $2.5 and $2.7 billion.
Beyond this penalty, three further investigations into X remain ongoing. These concern content and algorithm regulation since Musk’s takeover in 2022, potential mechanisms for incitement to violence or terrorism, and how X reports illegal content. X now has 90 days to submit an action plan addressing the breaches and retains the right to appeal; cases may also be escalated to the European Court of Justice.
In related enforcement, the EU has obtained commitments from TikTok to enhance transparency by providing advertising repositories. These steps illustrate the European Commission’s continued focus on enforcing the DSA to ensure accountability and transparency among major digital platforms.
