DSA violations: EU Commission threatens X with a fine
The Commission targets Elon Musk's messaging service, substantiating accusations against the platform. X faces high penalties for DSA violations.
(Image: sdx15/Shutterstock.com)
Based on preliminary investigation results, the EU Commission assumes that the short message service X (formerly Twitter) is in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) and is threatening to impose severe penalties. The EU regulators are focusing in particular on the blue tick that paying X users receive. The Commission is also accusing Elon Musk's company of a lack of transparency in advertising and a lack of support for science.
"The Commission has today informed X of its preliminary view that it is in breach of the Digital Services Act in areas related to dark patters, transparency of advertising and access to data for researchers," the EU Commission announced in Brussels on Friday afternoon.
"Blue tick deceives users"
The EU regulators accuse X of handling the blue tick for "verified accounts" in a way that is "not in line with industry practice" and deceives users. "Since anyone can subscribe to such a 'verified' status, it impairs the ability of users to make free and informed choices about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with", Brussels states.
The blue tick no longer stands for verified accounts. Twitter used to award some verified accounts, such as those of celebrities or institutions, a blue tick – and thus credibility and a certain status ("blue checks"). Since the takeover by Elon Musk, the X symbol now stands for users who pay for the service and can therefore use some additional functions.
In addition, the Commission criticizes X for not complying with the DSA's transparency requirements regarding advertising. The law forces platforms to keep a searchable database of all advertisements for users for one year. The solution provided by X is "not a searchable and reliable advertising archive", but is "unsuitable for its transparency purposes vis-à-vis users" due to access barriers. The Commission's third point of criticism is the inadequate access for research projects.
The Digital Services Act obliges large platforms such as Facebook and X to create more transparency about the moderation of content and advertising. In April 2023, the Commission classified X as a very large online platform (VLOP), making it subject to the new law. In December, the Commission then officially initiated proceedings against X. The EU Commission has also initiated proceedings against Meta (Facebook and Instagram), AliExpress and TikTok.
Proceedings not yet concluded
The Commission emphasizes that a decision has not yet been made in the proceedings against X. "X now has the right of defense, but if we confirm our view, we will impose fines and require significant changes," says EU Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton.
With the transmission of the preliminary findings, the procedure enters the next phase. X can now respond to the allegations, refute them or take remedial action. This could allow the US company to avert a possible fine. If the Commission imposes a penalty, the company can take legal action against it.
A fine for DSA violations can amount to up to six percent of annual global turnover. However, only estimates of X's current turnover are known, since Musk delisted the company from the stock exchange in October 2022. For the last stock market year 2022, the turnover was around 4.4 billion US dollars. According to unconfirmed media reports, turnover will have shrunk to 3.4 billion US dollars in 2023 – with a downward trend.
(vbr)