X fined over $A200m for breaching content rules
Elon Musk’s social media company X has been fined 120 million euros ($A211 million) by EU tech regulators for breaching EU online content rules; This is the first sanction under landmark legislation that will likely draw the ire of the U.S. government.
Rival TikTok evaded the penalty by making concessions.
Europe’s crackdown on Big Tech to ensure smaller rivals can compete and consumers have more choices has been criticized by US President Donald Trump’s administration, which says it is excluding American companies and censoring Americans.
The European Commission, the EU’s executive body, has said its laws do not target any nationals and merely protect its digital and democratic standards that serve as a reference point for the rest of the world.
The EU’s sanction on X on Friday follows a two-year investigation under the bloc’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which requires online platforms to do more to combat illegal and harmful content.
The EU’s investigation into ByteDance’s social media app TikTok led to accusations in May that the company had violated a DSA requirement to publish an ad repository that allows researchers and users to detect fraudulent ads.
Henna Virkkunen, the European Commission’s technology chief, said X’s modest fine was proportionate and calculated based on the nature of the violations, their severity for affected EU users and their duration.
“We’re not here to hand out the highest fines. We’re here to make sure our digital legislation is enforced and if you follow our rules you won’t get fined. And it’s that simple,” he told reporters.
“I think it is very important to underline that DSA has nothing to do with censorship,” Virkkunen said.
Future decisions on companies accused of DSA violations are expected to take less than two years in case X, he said.
“I really expect that we will make final decisions quicker now,” he said.
Meta and TikTok were accused of breaching DSA transparency obligations in October, while Chinese online marketplace Temu was accused of violating rules to prevent the sale of illegal products.
X did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Determining measures to comply with the DSA takes between 60 and 90 business days within the time frame, depending on the issue.
Before the EU decision, US Vice President JD Vance said the following about X: “Rumors are circulating that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not censoring. The EU should support freedom of expression without attacking American companies for garbage.”
TikTok, which has promised changes to its ad library to be more transparent, has called on regulators to enforce the law equally and consistently across all platforms.
EU regulators said X’s DSA violations included the misleading design of the blue tick mark for verified accounts, the lack of transparency of its ad repository and its failure to provide researchers with access to public data.
The Commission said that the investigation into the dissemination of illegal content on X and measures taken to combat information manipulation is ongoing, as well as a separate investigation into TikTok’s design, algorithmic systems and its obligation to protect children.
DSA fines can be as high as six percent of a company’s annual global revenue.
Australia’s Associated Press is the beating heart of Australian news. AAP is Australia’s only independent national news channel and has been providing accurate, reliable and fast-paced news content to the media industry, government and corporate sector for 85 years. We inform Australia.
