EU charges Musk's platform X for 'deceiving' users

The European Union has found that Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is misleading users, and also violating other EU content rules.

The platform’s ‘blue checks’ system was originally brought in to identify users who were trustworthy sources of information, such as public figures, politicians, and journalists.

However, since the introduction of a subscription service allowing access for anyone willing to pay, the platform has been flooded with accounts spreading misinformation.

In a statement, the European Commission said that X is also not complying with the required transparency on advertising.

The investigation found that the platform “does not provide a searchable and reliable advertisement repository, but instead put in place design features and access barriers that make the repository unfit for its transparency purpose towards users.”

Finally, the third preliminary finding by the investigation claimed that X fails to provide researchers with its public data.

The investigation into X,  by the EU first opened in December of 2023, and the charges are the first ever to be lodged under the new Digital Services Act (DSA).

If X is found to have infringed the DSA, it could be fined up to as much as 6% of its annual worldwide revenue.

In recent weeks, Apple and Meta were also warned by Brussels that they could be fined for breaches of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), unless they change their practice.