EU imposes €120 million fine on social media X                 

Brussels (dpa) – The European Union has imposed a fine of 120 million Euro on the social media platform X for breaching EU transparency rules.

The European Commission accuses X of misleadingly authenticating user accounts with blue ticks, withholding data from researchers and not transparently documenting advertisements placed on the platform.

The amount of the fine is proportionate to the infringement, the Commission stressed when making the announcement on Friday.

“Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU,” said European Commission Executive Vice-President Henna Virkkunen.

Before the takeover of the social media platform by Elon Musk, white ticks on a blue badge were displayed next to the profile names of celebrities, politicians and public figures for verification after review by the company. This is also common practice with other online platforms. 

After the takeover in 2022, Musk introduced a system whereby all paying subscribers received the same tick. The change caused considerable controversy over impersonation attempts, as fake accounts pretending to belong to companies and celebrities appeared to be genuine.

X may take legal action against the decision, which could ultimately propel the case up to the European Court of Justice (ECJ).

The decision against X was based on the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which aims to act against practices by tech giants that are considered dangerous. The penalty on X is the first imposed under the DSA, which has been in force since 2024.

The penalty risks further straining relations with the United States. US Vice President JD Vance wrote on X on Thursday that “the EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage.” US President Donald Trump has previously criticized European digital laws as anti-competitive. (5 December)