Tech tycoon Elon Musk’s X platform is breaking EU content regulations and deceiving users with its blue checkmarks for verified accounts, according to a Friday report from Brussels that could result in steep fines.
The EU industry chief Thierry Breton disclosed this in a statement after preliminary findings from its investigation into X, formerly known as Twitter, under the 27-nation bloc’s Digital Services Act.
Newsng gathered that the blue badge system that Musk introduced has angered EU regulators, unlike before, it was only available to verified accounts—which included leaders, businesses, and journalists—after authorization.
This may now be obtained by anybody with a premium subscription.
The EU executive highlighted X’s questionable practices while promoting openness and researcher access to data.
It said that X’s validated accounts, which have a blue checkmark, do not adhere to industry standards and have a detrimental impact on users’ autonomy to choose the legitimacy of the accounts they engage with.
Additionally, the Commission stated that X has not complied with a DSA requirement that businesses maintain a searchable and trustworthy advertisement repository.
“X has now the right of defence — but if our view is confirmed we will impose fines and require significant changes,” Breton said in the statement.
X was also accused of preventing researchers from using its publicly available data.
Before Musk’s acquisition, the checkmarks, which resembled social media verification badges, were mostly exclusive to prominent accounts belonging to politicians, celebrities, and other significant people.
“Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a ‘verified” status’ it negatively affects users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with,” the commission said.
If found guilty of violating the DSA, the corporation might be fined up to 6% of its global revenue. It will take several months to reply to the charges.
We earlier reported that the iPad operating system is set to comply with the regulations of the DMA within six months, as per a letter issued by the European Commission to the tech giant.
