The European Commission (EC) has accused billionaire Elon Musk’s American internet network X of violating EU rules. Specifically, the European Union’s Digital Services Act (DSA). It has fined the company €120 million for this. The Commission announced this today in a press release.
X receives record fine of €120 million
This is the first sanction under the landmark EU legislation, and according to Reuters. The sanction is expected to provoke anger from the US government. According to a senior EU official. Today’s decision was preceded by two years of intensive work, and the Commission was in contact with X. The amount of the fine was determined based on the duration and severity of the violation, the EU source said.
“The Commission has today fined Company X €120 million for breaching its transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA). The breaches include the misleading design of its blue tick, insufficient transparency of its advertising repository, and failure to provide access to public data for researchers,” the Commission said.
The violations concern three areas. One of them is misleading information for users in connection with the so-called blue tick on accounts. Previously, the checkmark meant that the account was verified by Company X and was used, for example, by politicians, celebrities, or the media. Now, however, this label can be purchased as part of X Premium, so it has lost its credibility.
The second violation concerns the fact that the X network does not provide sufficient space for researchers. They often only have access to partial or unreliable data. This has an impact on their ability to investigate, for example, whether users, including minors, are exposed to illegal or harmful content. The commission had similar reservations about Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.
Musk and X under EU scrutiny
According to the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into force last year, companies such as Google (part of Alphabet), Microsoft, Meta Platforms, X, TikTok, and others must make greater efforts to combat illegal and harmful content on their platforms. The European Commission is the EU’s executive body with extensive powers, and it also acts as an antitrust authority. Musk bought X in 2022, when it was still operating under the name Twitter. The network subsequently underwent extensive changes, which, in addition to renaming, included laying off most of its employees and relaxing content regulation rules.
Musk, who is also the CEO and largest shareholder of electric car manufacturer Tesla, is the richest person in the world. According to the latest billionaire rankings compiled by Bloomberg, his net worth is approximately $467 billion. Musk has also been heavily involved in politics recently. He supported US President Donald Trump in his election campaign and, after Trump’s victory, led a group for streamlining government administration (DOGE) for several months. However, relations between Trump and Musk have deteriorated over time.
Source: Reuters
