EU Fines Elon Musk's X Under Digital Services Act for Deceptive Practices, Threatening Free Speech
In a significant move, the European Union has fined Elon Musk's new platform X nearly $140 million under its Digital Services Act (DSA) for deceptive practices and violating key provisions of the law.
The fine, announced by the EU Commission on Friday, comes as a result of X's handling of user verification. When Musk took over Twitter in November 2022, he changed the platform's historical use of a blue checkmark to verify notable users. Instead, Musk started selling blue checks for about $8 per month, which immediately prompted a wave of imposter accounts pretending to be notable celebrities, officials, and brands.
Today, X still prominently advertises that paying for checks is the only way to "verify" an account on the platform. However, the EU Commission has concluded that this practice deceives users and exposes them to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors.
The commission also found X guilty of violating another key provision of the DSA – transparency and accessibility of its ad repository. The law requires platforms to make certain details about ads public so that researchers and users can detect scams, hybrid threat campaigns, coordinated information operations, and fake advertisements.
X apparently was guilty of "excessive delays in processing" when researchers sought access to the platform's ad data, and once the data was shared, X excluded critical information – such as the content and topic of the advertisement, as well as the legal entity paying for it. This lack of transparency makes it harder to determine who's paying for what ads.
The EU Commission has given X 60 days to share information on the measures it will take to fix these compliance issues. The platform now faces a significant fine and potential periodic penalty payments if it fails to make corrections.
Musk has not directly commented on the fine, but Vice President JD Vance reacted to rumors by prematurely blasting the decision as EU censorship on X. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has also demanded that the EU overhaul its tech regulations to avoid a 50 percent tariff rate on steel products.
The commission seems confident that the fine will not be ruled as improper censorship and that the DSA is having nothing to do with censorship. The EU official who announced the fine said it was a "modest fine" calculated based on legitimate fears of non-compliance, which could expose EU users to risks.
X's response to the fine remains uncertain, but experts expect the platform to fight the decision in court. This will be the first test of pushback against the DSA in litigation.
In a significant move, the European Union has fined Elon Musk's new platform X nearly $140 million under its Digital Services Act (DSA) for deceptive practices and violating key provisions of the law.
The fine, announced by the EU Commission on Friday, comes as a result of X's handling of user verification. When Musk took over Twitter in November 2022, he changed the platform's historical use of a blue checkmark to verify notable users. Instead, Musk started selling blue checks for about $8 per month, which immediately prompted a wave of imposter accounts pretending to be notable celebrities, officials, and brands.
Today, X still prominently advertises that paying for checks is the only way to "verify" an account on the platform. However, the EU Commission has concluded that this practice deceives users and exposes them to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors.
The commission also found X guilty of violating another key provision of the DSA – transparency and accessibility of its ad repository. The law requires platforms to make certain details about ads public so that researchers and users can detect scams, hybrid threat campaigns, coordinated information operations, and fake advertisements.
X apparently was guilty of "excessive delays in processing" when researchers sought access to the platform's ad data, and once the data was shared, X excluded critical information – such as the content and topic of the advertisement, as well as the legal entity paying for it. This lack of transparency makes it harder to determine who's paying for what ads.
The EU Commission has given X 60 days to share information on the measures it will take to fix these compliance issues. The platform now faces a significant fine and potential periodic penalty payments if it fails to make corrections.
Musk has not directly commented on the fine, but Vice President JD Vance reacted to rumors by prematurely blasting the decision as EU censorship on X. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has also demanded that the EU overhaul its tech regulations to avoid a 50 percent tariff rate on steel products.
The commission seems confident that the fine will not be ruled as improper censorship and that the DSA is having nothing to do with censorship. The EU official who announced the fine said it was a "modest fine" calculated based on legitimate fears of non-compliance, which could expose EU users to risks.
X's response to the fine remains uncertain, but experts expect the platform to fight the decision in court. This will be the first test of pushback against the DSA in litigation.
I'm not surprised by this fine, to be honest 
. Elon Musk and X have been all over the place with this "verification" thingy. It's just a fancy way of saying they're trying to make some cash off people's trust 
. And now the EU is calling them out for it? Better late than never, I guess 
.
. It's like they think we're stupid or something 
. And don't even get me started on the ad transparency issue – it's just basic common sense to make that stuff public, you know? 
. It'll be interesting to see how they try to fight this in court 
. Maybe they can explain why they thought it was a good idea to sell fake verification checks for a profit 
? It's not like they're forcing people to pay for them or anything...just an extra fee for those who want that fancy verification badge 
. And another thing, why is the EU getting all up in arms about transparency and accessibility of ad data? Can't X just keep it private if they want to? It's not like they're hurting anyone with fake ads or whatever...just more red tape from Brussels 
140 mil fine? that's crazy! i get why the eu is cracking down tho, it's like x is basically selling fake blue checks and making users vulnerable to scams...i mean who tries to impersonate a celeb for a quick buck? 
.
. We can't have platforms like X pretending to be legitimate while still allowing scammers to run wild 
, and maybe it'll even help spark some real change in the tech industry 
. But let's not forget that these platforms have a lot of power and influence, so we need to keep an eye on them 
- "We're not gonna make you pay for that blue checkmark, but if you do, it's gonna cost ya $8! 
The EU gotta step in and clean up X's act before someone gets hurt, I guess. But seriously, can we just have a platform where users can trust what they're seeing without having to shell out cash for a blue check? 
. And if X thinks they can just fight it in court, they'll be facing a whole lot of scrutiny from the EU and their users 
. The DSA might seem like censorship to some, but let's keep it real – it's just good governance 
!! eu is low-key clapping back at musk and x's shady practices. like, who tries to sell blue checks tho? that's just begging 4 scam accounts to pop up. x needs 2 step up its game and get transparency 4 real 
i mean, who wouldn't see through that? 
like, if you're gonna sell ad space, at least be transparent about it 
who's paying for these ads and what kind of content are they running? 
and that users deserve better than shady business practices 
... If they're not transparent with their ad data, how can we trust them to be neutral? 
️... Not sure if X will appeal this fine or try to make changes, but it's good that the EU is taking steps to protect users from harm 
