"The European Union (EU) hit billionaire Elon Musk's social platform X with a $140 million fine Friday for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA), the first time a company has been sanctioned under the bloc's tech law. The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, accused X of deceiving users with its blue checkmark system and failing to create a transparent advertising repository and provide researchers with access to public data."
"It also found that X's ad repository had design features that undermined its effectiveness, in addition to lacking key information about advertisements on the site. The platform also blocks researchers from independently accessing data in violation of the DSA, the commission noted. "Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU," Henna Virkkunen, the bloc's executive vice-president for tech sovereignty, security and democracy, said in a statement."
The European Commission fined X $140 million for violating the Digital Services Act, marking the first sanction under the law. The commission found that X's paid blue checkmark system deceives users and breaches the DSA's ban on deceptive design. The ad repository lacked key information and included design features that undermined its effectiveness. The platform prevented independent researcher access to public data, violating DSA requirements. The EU opened its investigation in December 2023 and continues probing X's handling of illegal content and information manipulation. The enforcement action may provoke opposition from U.S. officials who have criticized EU regulation of U.S. tech companies.
Read at The Hill
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