EU imposes €120m fine on Elon Musk's X in first major DSA enforcement
The European Union has imposed a landmark €120 million fine on X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, for violating transparency and anti-disinformation rules under the bloc's new Digital Services Act (DSA).
The penalty, announced Friday, marks the first time Brussels has enforced the sweeping legislation, which aims to curb online manipulation and hold major tech platforms accountable for user safety.
In its findings, the European Commission said X misled users with its paid "verified mark" programme, formerly known as the blue checkmark, by allowing anyone to buy verification status without confirming their identity.
According to officials, the company falsely implied accounts had been authenticated, despite having performed no meaningful verification process.
"This deception exposes users to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors," the Commission stated.
While the DSA does not require platforms to verify users, it does prohibit falsely presenting accounts as verified.
The Commission also cited failures in political ad transparency.
Under the DSA, major platforms must maintain a publicly accessible database of political advertisements, updated in real time, containing details on who paid for each ad and who was targeted.
But regulators found that X's ad repository lacks critical information, including ad content and funders, and is hampered by "design features and access barriers" that delay scrutiny by researchers.
Further violations involve restrictions on independent researchers seeking access to public data, including bans on scraping and what the Commission called "unnecessary barriers" that undermine investigations into influence campaigns and systemic risks.
Platforms found breaching the DSA can face fines of up to 6% of global revenue. The EU indicated it expects continued oversight of X and further compliance improvements.
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, stated: "Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU. The DSA protects users. The DSA gives researchers the way to uncover potential threats. The DSA restores trust in the online environment. With the DSA's first non-compliance decision, we are holding X responsible for undermining users' rights and evading accountability."
Musk calls fine ‘bullshit’ as X strikes back
Elon Musk quickly lashed out online following the announcement, calling the penalty "bullshit" and posting: "How long before the EU is gone? #AbolishTheEU."
Shortly afterward, X appeared to take its own retaliatory step, disabling the European Commission's advertising account.
Nikita Bier, X's Head of Product, accused the EU's executive branch of using a dormant advertiser profile to exploit a feature in the platform's Ad Composer.
According to Bier, the Commission posted a link formatted to resemble video content in order to increase reach, allegedly in violation of X's rules.
"X believes everyone should have an equal voice on our platform. However, it seems you believe that the rules should not apply to your account," Bier wrote, explaining that the Commission's ad account had been "terminated" and the issue patched.
A spokesperson for the European Commission rejected the allegation of rule-bending, insisting that the institution "always uses all social media platforms in good faith" and merely relies on tools made available to corporate users.
The spokesperson told TechCrunch that the Commission suspended paid advertisements on X in October 2023, and that the suspension remains unchanged.
