The European Commission fined company X (formerly Twitter) €120 million ($140 million) on Friday, December 5, for failing to comply with the requirements of the European Digital Services Act (DSA). This is the first application of such a fine, according to the EC's website.
Elon Musk's social network has violated several DSA norms, including the decision to sell the blue checkmark without verifying who is behind the account.
This misleads users regarding the authenticity of accounts and violates Article 25(1) of the DSA, which prohibits deceptive practices in platform design, officials in Brussels believe.
"On X, anyone can obtain 'verified' status, although the company does not actually verify who is behind the account, making it difficult for users to assess the authenticity of the accounts and content they interact with. Such deceptive practices create risks of fraud for users, particularly impersonation, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors," the European Commission stated.
Social network X has been given 60 working days to resolve the issue with the 'checkmarks'.
Failure to comply with the 'non-compliance decision' may result in periodic fines.
US officials reacted negatively to the European Commission's decision
"The $140 million fine from the European Commission is not just an attack on X, it is an attack on all American technology platforms and the American people by foreign governments. The days of censorship of Americans online are over," wrote US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on X.
US Vice President JD Vance stated that the EU should support freedom of speech, not 'attack American companies over any nonsense.'
