The European Commission has fined X (formerly Twitter) €120 million for violating several transparency rules under the Digital Services Act (DSA). Notably, this is the Commission’s first formal non-compliance decision since the DSA came into force.
The US government has criticised the move, calling it unfair to American companies, while X owner Elon Musk responded to the announcement by writing “Bullshit” under a Commission post.
Henna Virkkunen, who is the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, defended the decision, saying that the fine was proportionate and based on the nature, gravity, and duration of the violations.
“We are not here to impose the highest fines. We are here to make sure that our digital legislation is enforced and if you comply with our rules, you don’t get the fine. And it’s as simple as that,” she told reporters. “I think it’s very important to underline that DSA is having nothing to do with censorship,” she added.
According to the Commission, X misled users with the platform’s blue checkmark system, failed to maintain a transparent and accessible advertising repository, and blocked researchers from accessing public data: rights that very large online platforms (VLOPs) are required to provide under EU law.
Misleading Blue Checkmarks
The Commission said X used a deceptive design by allowing users to pay for the blue checkmark without proper identity verification. Regulators found that the “verified” badge could give a false impression of authenticity, exposing users to impersonation and scams.
Importantly, while the DSA does not force platforms to verify all users, it prohibits companies from presenting accounts as verified when no meaningful verification has occurred.
Advert Repository Lacking Required Information
The Commission also found that X’s advertising repository does not meet the transparency standards required by Article 39 of the DSA. Officials said the repository is slow, difficult to search, and missing basic details such as the content of ads, their topics, and the legal entities paying for them.
These gaps make it difficult for researchers, civil society groups, and the public to detect scams, hybrid threat campaigns, or coordinated misinformation campaigns.
In comparison, TikTok avoided a fine after agreeing to expand the transparency of its own ad library. As such, TikTok’s concessions showed that platforms can comply when they cooperate.
Blocking Research Access to Public Data
Under Article 40(12) of the DSA, VLOPs must allow eligible researchers access to public data to study systemic risks. However, the Commission says X actively restricted such access by banning independent scraping in its terms of service and by creating burdensome approval processes.
These barriers, regulators said, effectively undermine research into several systemic risks in the European…
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