European regulators have charged Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, with breaching the sweeping Digital Services Act (DSA), accusing it of misleading its users and other significant violations. The accusations mark the first time the European Commission has issued preliminary findings under this new legislation, signalling the gravity of the situation.
Margrethe Vestager, a senior official at the European Commission, announced the charges in a statement on Friday. “Today we issue, for the first time, preliminary findings under the Digital Services Act,” Vestager said. “In our view, X does not comply with the DSA in key transparency areas, by using dark patterns and thus misleading users, by failing to provide an adequate ad repository, and by blocking access to data for researchers.”
The Commission’s statement highlighted that the platform’s approach to verified accounts is problematic. It criticised X for allowing anyone to subscribe and obtain a “verified” status, which is contrary to industry practices. The Commission pointed to evidence that malicious actors have abused the blue checkmark to deceive users, thereby undermining trust in the verification process.
If the preliminary findings are confirmed, X could face a fine of up to 6% of its global annual turnover. This potential penalty underscores the seriousness of the alleged violations and the European Union’s commitment to enforcing the DSA.
X has not yet responded to requests for comment on these allegations.
Thierry Breton, another senior Commission official, expressed concerns about the shift in the significance of blue checks on the platform. “Back in the day, blue checks used to mean trustworthy sources of information,” Breton noted. “Now with X, our preliminary view is that they deceive users and infringe the DSA.”
The Digital Services Act, which went into effect in August, includes regulations designed to protect users from dark patterns. These are subtle design elements that manipulate consumers into making choices that benefit the company, such as giving up personal data. An example of a dark pattern is when a company highlights an acceptance button in bright colors while minimizing the opt-out option’s font size or placement, making it harder for users to reject tracking.
The findings are the result of an ongoing investigation launched by EU regulators in December. This probe also examines X’s content moderation practices to determine if the platform has failed to address the dissemination of illegal content and misinformation, which would constitute further breaches of the DSA.
