EU warns Elon Musk’s social network over disinformation

On July 12, the European Commission officially issued a warning to Elon Musk’s social network X (Twitter) for insufficiently combating disinformation and illegal content, which may result in fines, according to the European Commission’s statement.

The EU executive body said that X (Twitter) violates the Digital Services Act (DSA), the European legislation that regulates the work of large digital platforms, primarily in countering disinformation.

In the published preliminary findings of the investigation, the European Commission stated that “blue ticks” on the social network mislead users into thinking that certain content is trustworthy.

Three issues on X flagged by the European Commission:

• In a way that does not correspond to industry practice and deceives users, X operates its interface for the “verified accounts” with the “Blue checkmark.” Since anyone can subscribe to obtain such a “verified” status, it negatively affects users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and the content they interact with.
• X does not comply with advertising transparency requirements because it does not provide a searchable and reliable advertisement repository. The design does not allow for the necessary supervision and research into emerging risks brought about by online advertising distribution.
• X fails to provide access to its public data to researchers in line with the conditions set out in the DSA. According to its terms of service, X prohibits eligible researchers from independently accessing its public data, such as by scraping, as stated in its terms of service.

The social network administration previously provided blue ticks for verified users like government officials, public figures, and journalists, but Elon Musk changed this policy and made it possible to purchase accounts with blue ticks for money.

In addition, according to the European Commission, X (Twitter) does not comply with its obligations to provide a reliable, searchable advertising repository and has restricted researchers’ access to its public data.

The social network will now have the right to respond to the EU’s accusations and propose steps in response. Based on the assessment of the responses, the European Commission will determine further steps, up to and including opening proceedings against the social network, which could result in a fine of a percentage of its global turnover.

The EU Digital Services Act, which introduces new rules for content moderation, privacy, and transparency for users, came into force in the fall of 2023. Simultaneously, the investigation into Musk’s social network came to light.