The commission fined X 120 million euros for blue ticks and hiding data

The first problem is the blue ticks. On X, they are still presented as a sign that the account is “verified”, but they can be obtained by anyone who pays a subscription, without actually verifying who is behind the profile. This confuses users and creates the impression that the account is official, reliable or at least verified, although it may not be. The commission warns that this increases the risk of fraud, fake profiles and manipulation, because it is more difficult for people to distinguish real accounts of companies, institutions and public figures from paid imitations. The act does not require that platforms must verify all users, but it expressly prohibits them from claiming that someone has been “verified” if the verification has not actually been carried out.

The second block of objections concerns advertising. By law, X must have a clear, publicly available and easily searchable repository of all ads displayed on the platform. According to the Commission, the current repository has technical obstacles – it works slowly, there are various barriers to access – and it lacks key information, such as the exact content and topic of the ad and the legal entity that pays for the ad. Without such data, it is more difficult for researchers, journalists and civil society to discover hidden political campaigns, disinformation, false ads and other manipulations, and thus the very purpose of the repository is missed.

The third point is data access. The act requires large platforms to provide authorized researchers with access to public data, in order to study the spread of disinformation, hate speech, political manipulation and other major risks. X, however, in its terms of service prohibits the independent collection of such public data, and the procedures for obtaining official access are full of bureaucracy and technical obstacles. The Commission believes that by doing so, X effectively undermines investigations into systemic risks in the EU, even though such investigations should be facilitated, not prevented, under the Digital Services Act.

In addition to the fine itself, X now has very specific deadlines. Within 60 working days, he must inform the Commission of the exact changes he will introduce in order to stop deceiving users with blue ticks. Within 90 working days, he must also submit an action plan for the advertisement repository and access to public research data. After that, the Board for Digital Services is involved, which has one month for its opinion, and then another month for the Commission for the final decision and implementation deadlines. If X does not fulfill the obligations even then, additional, periodic penalties may follow.

“Removing users with blue checkmarks, hiding ad information and excluding researchers has no place on the EU internet. The DSA protects users. The Digital Services Act enables researchers to detect potential threats. The Digital Services Act restores trust in the online environment. The first decision on due to the non-compliance brought by the Digital Services Act, we hold X responsible for endangering the rights of users and avoiding responsibility.” said Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice President for Technology Sovereignty, Security and Democracy.