Brussels – The European Commission has levied a €120 million (approximately $129 million) fine against X, formerly known as Twitter, for breaches of the Digital Services Act (DSA), the bloc’s landmark social media regulation. The penalty, announced Friday, stems from failures in transparency, disinformation safeguards, and data access for researchers.
The Commission’s investigation found X misled users regarding the verification of accounts, particularly after implementing a paid “blue” subscription service in late 2022. This allowed anyone willing to pay $8 per month to obtain a blue checkmark, previously a signal of verified identity. Accounts of prominent figures like Beyoncé, pope Francis, writer Neil gaiman, and rapper Lil Nas X were falsely marked as verified under the new system. Regulators resolute this practice “makes it difficult for users to judge the authenticity of accounts and content they engage with.”
The DSA, enacted to create a safer digital space for European users, requires large online platforms to proactively address illegal content and systemic risks. X also fell short of requirements for its ad database, failing to provide sufficient detail on ad sponsors and targeting, hindering efforts to detect scams and coordinated influence campaigns. The Commission cited “excessive delays in processing” and other access barriers as contributing factors.
“Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU,” stated Henna Virkkunen, the EU’s executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy. “The DSA protects users.”
Beyond the fine, the Commission has outlined specific steps X must take to rectify the violations, including improving transparency around verification and advertising, and providing researchers with easier access to platform data. The ruling comes as the EU intensifies scrutiny of major tech companies and their adherence to the DSA. In a related action, the Commission concluded a separate case with TikTok after the platform pledged to improve transparency in its ad database.