Elon Musk’s X fined €120m over ‘deceptive’ blue ticks
Elon Musk’s social media platform
The European Commission said the platform was “deceiving users” by allowing people to pay for the blue check mark on their profiles because the firm “failed to meaningfully verify” who was behind the account.
“This scam exposes users to scams, including impersonation scams, and other forms of manipulation by malicious actors.” he said.
The BBC has approached X for comment.
US Vice President JD Vance lashed out at the EU on Thursday over rumors it would soon be fined, claiming the EU was being punished “for not censoring”.
“The EU should support freedom of expression instead of attacking American companies over garbage.” he said.
In addition to taking issue with the use of blue ticks, EU regulators said X also failed to provide transparency about its advertising and did not allow researchers to access publicly available data.
“The fine imposed today has been calculated taking into account the nature of these violations, their seriousness for the affected EU users and their duration,” the Commission said. he said.
Henna Virkkunen, the regulator’s deputy head of technology sovereignty, said this “holds X accountable for undermining users’ rights and evading accountability.”
“Deceiving users with blue flags, hiding information in ads and excluding researchers has no place online in the EU,” he said.
The decision means that X must inform the Commission how it intends to bring the allegedly infringing measures into compliance with EU law or face periodic fines.
This action marks the Commission’s first decision regarding a platform’s “non-compliance” with the Digital Services Act (DSA); this is one of two rulebooks that online firms must follow to operate their services in the EU.
The DSA sets out platforms’ obligations regarding content, data and advertising, while the Digital Markets Act sets out how companies must operate to benefit consumers and competition.
Such rules are increasingly under scrutiny from U.S. leaders, who have warned against tougher regulation of tech companies by governments and regulators.
Musk’s changes to verification formed part of sweeping changes he made after acquiring Twitter in late 2022.
The previous system, which worked similarly to other social media verification programs that showed a person as verified if they provided proof of identity, has been disabled and Replaced with one tied to the premium subscription tier.
This required people who wanted the blue checkmark displayed next to their account name on the site to pay a monthly subscription fee.
To receive a verified checkmark, an X account must have a display name, profile picture, a verified phone number, and be active within the last 30 days.
They also cannot be “misleading or deceptive” or engage in spamming activity.
Musk launched the new system as a way to encourage people to subscribe and increase X’s overall revenue.
This also gave blue tick holders a greater presence in the replies and was discussed as a way to tackle the amount of bots on the platform.
But it has turned out to be highly controversial, with warnings that it could leave users vulnerable to scams by impersonators or fake accounts and increase the profile of bad actors. misleading content.
