Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Faarea Masud
- Role, BBC Business reporter
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The European Union has accused Elon Musk’s social media site X of violating online content rules, saying its “verified” accounts with a blue check mark could “mislead” users.
The bloc’s tech regulator said users could be fooled into thinking the identities of those with blue ticks had been verified, when in fact anyone can pay for a blue tick. It said it had found evidence of “malicious actors” abusing the system.
The investigation was launched under the EU’s Digital Services Act (DSA), which could see X fined up to 6% of its global annual turnover and forced to change the way it operates within the union.
Musk responded angrily: “The DSA is disinformation,” he wrote on X.
The technology watchdog also found a lack of transparency around advertising, saying X had not provided data for research purposes as required under EU rules.
The findings come after a seven-month investigation under the DSA, which requires major tech companies like X to take action to stop illegal content and protect the public.
The Commission found that the way in which X designed and managed the blue-tick verified accounts interface “does not correspond to industry practice and misleads users”.
“Because anyone can subscribe to obtain such a ‘verified’ status, this negatively impacts users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and content they interact with,” the report said.
“There are indications that malicious actors are abusing the ‘verified account’ to mislead users.”
Internal Market Commissioner Thierry Breton said: “BlueChecks used to mean reliable sources of information.
“With regard to X, we preliminary believe they are misleading users and violating the DSA,” he added.
“X now has the right to defend himself, but if our position is confirmed, we will impose fines and demand significant changes.”
X was also accused of blocking researchers’ access to his public data.
“In particular, X prohibits eligible researchers from independently accessing its public data, for example through scraping, as stated in its terms of service,” the Commission said.
If X is found to be in breach of the rules, he will also be subject to a ‘period of enhanced supervision to ensure compliance’.
The Commission will also continue to investigate X’s practices regarding the dissemination of illegal content and the extent to which X combats the dissemination of fake news.