Elon Musk, CEO of X (formerly known as Twitter), has responded with a fiery outburst following the European Commission’s preliminary findings that X is in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA). Musk took to social media to express his defiance, stating, “We look forward to a very public battle in court, so that the people of Europe can know the truth.”
Musk made the comment in response to the post of Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, on the matter, claiming that X “deceived users and infringed the DSA.”
“Back in the day, #BlueChecks used to mean trustworthy sources of information. Now with X, our preliminary view is that they deceive users and infringe the #DSA. X has now the right of defence — but if our view is confirmed we will impose fines & require significant changes,” he wrote.
The European Commission has detailed three primary areas of X’s non-compliance:
- Deceptive Interface Design: X’s design and operation of its “verified accounts” system with the “Blue checkmark” have been found misleading. Unlike traditional industry practices, X allows anyone to subscribe to obtain this status, leading to potential abuse by malicious actors to deceive users. This undermines users’ ability to make informed decisions about the authenticity of accounts and content.
- Lack of Advertising Transparency: The Commission noted that X fails to provide a reliable advertisement repository. The existing system, characterized by design features and access barriers, does not meet the DSA’s transparency requirements, hindering supervision and research into emerging online advertising risks.
- Restricted Data Access for Researchers: X prohibits eligible researchers from independently accessing its public data, such as by scraping, as outlined in its terms of service. Additionally, the process for granting API access to researchers is burdensome, often requiring disproportionally high fees, which discourages research activities.
The European Commission emphasized that these preliminary findings are part of an ongoing investigation and do not prejudge the final outcome. X now has the opportunity to examine the documents and respond in writing.
If the Commission’s preliminary views are confirmed, X could face significant penalties, including fines of up to 6% of its total worldwide annual turnover. Furthermore, the Commission may order X to implement measures to rectify the breaches and could impose periodic penalty payments to ensure compliance.
X was designated as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) under the DSA on April 25, 2023, after declaring over 45 million monthly active users in the EU. The Commission’s investigation, which began on December 18, 2023, initially focused on the dissemination of illegal content and the effectiveness of measures against information manipulation. The current findings specifically address issues of dark patterns, advertising transparency, and data access for researchers.
Information for this briefing was found via the sources mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to this organization. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
