Elon Musk’s social network X is violating European Union digital law by misleading users and not being transparent enough, the European Commission announced today.
KEY FACTS
- The European Commission’s move follows a seven-month investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires many major online platforms and search engines to do more to tackle illegal content and risks to public safety.
- The commission said the user authentication system, known as a blue tick, is open to abuse by motivated malicious actors because anyone can pay to have a blue tick next to their name.
- Previously, the blue tick “indicated reliable sources of information,” European Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a statement. X now has the right to a defence, but if our opinion is confirmed, we will impose fines and demand significant changes, he added.
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
The EU’s move under the Digital Services Act could eventually pave the way for fines of up to 6% of X’s revenue if the company fails to allay the bloc’s concerns. There is no specific time frame for the next steps in the investigation.
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A lack of transparency about ads also potentially violates the law, the European Commission said, as does the platform’s failure to open up its data to researchers.
