EU Targets X for Digital Services Act Violations

The European Commission has unveiled preliminary findings from an investigation into tech company X, alleging multiple violations of the Digital Services Act (DSA). The primary concern is X’s approach to paid verification, which the Commission claims misleads users and deviates from industry standards. The ease with which users can obtain a blue checkmark has reportedly led to difficulties in verifying account authenticity, increasing the risk of scams and spam.

Additionally, the European Union has criticized X for its lack of advertising transparency. The Commission asserts that X fails to maintain a searchable ad repository, hindering researchers’ ability to analyze emerging risks associated with online advertising. This lack of transparency is seen as a significant breach of the DSA’s requirements.

The EU also highlighted X’s restrictive data access policies for researchers. According to the Commission, X’s terms of service prohibit eligible researchers from independently accessing public data, either dissuading them from conducting research or forcing them to pay exorbitant fees to use X’s application programming interfaces (APIs). These practices are viewed as non-compliant with the DSA’s transparency mandates.

If X is found guilty of these allegations, it could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue, which would provide insight into the company’s current financial status. The EU may also impose further periodic fines if X fails to comply with required changes. The Commission has previously taken strong actions against other tech giants under the DSA and the Digital Markets Act, with Meta and Apple potentially facing multibillion-euro fines.

Source: X is in hot water in the EU over blue checkmarks and ads