In its initial DSA sanction, the EU imposes a €120M fine on X for a ‘misleading’ blue check verification process

European Commission Issues First DSA Fine to X

The European Commission has handed down its inaugural penalty under the Digital Services Act (DSA), targeting X, the social media platform previously known as Twitter and now owned by Elon Musk.

The Commission’s main concern centers on X’s policy of allowing users to purchase a “blue checkmark”—a symbol that once signified verified identity on the platform. Previously, this badge was reserved for individuals whose identities had been confirmed by the company.

Describing the blue checkmark system as misleading, the EU’s executive body announced a €120 million (approximately $140 million) fine against X, citing violations of the DSA’s transparency requirements.

Additional infractions highlighted by the Commission include insufficient openness regarding X’s advertising database and the company’s failure to grant researchers access to public data.

Changes to Verification and Transparency

Before Musk’s acquisition, Twitter awarded blue checkmarks to journalists, public officials, celebrities, and other notable figures after verifying their identities. In 2023, this policy was scrapped. Now, the blue check simply indicates that a user subscribes to X Premium and meets basic criteria, such as having a profile photo, a display name, and a linked phone number—without any substantial identity verification.

The Commission stated, “X’s approach to ‘verified accounts’ misleads users, breaching the DSA’s prohibition on deceptive design. Anyone can now pay for the ‘verified’ status, making it challenging for users to determine the authenticity of accounts and the content they see.”

This practice, according to the Commission, increases the risk of scams, impersonation, and manipulation on the platform.

Advertising Repository and Data Access Concerns

The regulator also criticized X’s advertising repository for failing to meet DSA standards for transparency and accessibility. The Commission noted that X imposes unnecessary delays on access requests and omits crucial information, such as ad content, topics, and the identities of advertisers.

“These shortcomings prevent researchers and the public from independently assessing potential risks associated with online advertising,” the Commission remarked.

Another significant issue is X’s restriction of researcher access to public data. The DSA requires platforms to enable independent research into systemic risks, but the Commission’s investigation found that X does not adequately facilitate this.

“X’s procedures for granting researchers access to public data create needless obstacles, effectively hindering research into systemic risks within the EU,” the Commission added.

Background and Next Steps

This enforcement action follows a two-year investigation by the Commission into suspected violations related to risk management, content moderation, manipulative design, advertising transparency, and researcher data access.

Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s executive vice-president for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy, commented, “There is no place in the EU for deceiving users with blue checkmarks, hiding advertising information, or blocking researchers.”

X has been given 60 days to present a plan for addressing the issues related to blue checkmarks, and 90 days to submit a strategy for improving transparency and accessibility regarding advertisements and public data.

Violations of the DSA can result in severe penalties, including fines of up to 6% of a company’s global annual revenue.