EU accuses Elon Musk's X of deceiving users and violating content rules
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Elon Musk in Cannes, France, in June 2024. Photo: Marc Piasecki/Getty Images
The European Commission found Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly Twitter, allegedly deceived its users and violated the European Union's digital content rules by lacking transparency, the commission said on Friday.
Why it matters: The findings, while preliminary, could lead to X facing a hefty fine of up to 6% of the total worldwide annual turnover if it doesn't address issues the commission raised.
The latest: Musk in a post on Friday said he and the platform "look forward to a very public battle in court, so that the people of Europe can know the truth."
- "Be our guest," EU Commissioner Thierry Breton said in response to Musk's post.
Context: The EU's Digital Services Act (DSA), which went into effect last year, imposes requirements on social media companies to help prevent illegal and harmful activities online and the spread of disinformation.
- The commission opened an investigation into X in December 2023 to determine if it violated DSA's rules on illegal content, information manipulation, advertising transparency and data access.
- Friday marked the first time the commission has issued preliminary findings under the DSA.
What's inside: The commission said X deceives its users by allowing anyone to buy a "verified" account status on the social media platform, regardless of the authenticity of the accounts.
- The commission said evidence indicates motivated malicious actors have used the new paid verification status to deceive users. Previously, Twitter itself would verify prominent accounts to ensure they weren't spoofed or abused.
- The commission also said the social media platform does not require transparency on advertising and does not provide its public data to researchers, both of which are requirements of the DSA.
What they're saying: "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," said in a statement.
- Breton added that X has the right to defend itself "but if our view is confirmed we will impose fines and require significant changes."
- Margrethe Vestager, the EU's top tech regulator, said: "The DSA has transparency at its very core, and we are determined to ensure that all platforms, including X, comply with EU legislation."
The other side: Musk claimed on X on Friday that the commission offered the social media platform "an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us."
- "The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not," he said.
Breton denied Musk's claim, saying, "There has never been — and will never be — any 'secret deal.' With anyone."
- "The DSA provides X (and any large platform) with the possibility to offer commitments to settle a case," Breton said. "To be extra clear: it's *YOUR* team who asked the Commission to explain the process for settlement and to clarify our concerns."
- "We did it in line with established regulatory procedures. Up to you to decide whether to offer commitments or not. That is how rule of law procedures work. See you (in court or not)."
Go deeper: Tesla reportedly delays highly anticipated robotaxi event, stock tanks
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional developments.
