Yesterday at 23:40
Elon Musk’s platform X (Twitter) is misleading users with its blue ticks for certified accounts and also violates EU content rules, Brussels said on Friday, which could lead to heavy fines. An analysis by Dutch researchers shows coordinated activity aimed at spreading disinformation in France, Germany and Italy ahead of the EU elections.
EU regulators are unhappy with Musk’s blue badge system, as anyone can now get it with a premium subscription, whereas previously it was reserved for verified accounts, including leaders, companies and journalists, after approval.
The official warning against X is the first under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a wide-ranging law that forces digital companies to do more to control online content. It follows an investigation launched in December 2023.
The X platform becomes the third company in as many weeks to face a warning from the European Union for breaking landmark new rules, after Brussels warned Apple and Meta to change the way they operate or risk heavy fines – for breaking a second law known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA).
Elon Musk’s social network X has been in the crosshairs of Brussels since the billionaire took over the company, formerly known as Twitter, in 2022. X has been accused of allowing disinformation and illegal hate speech to run rampant, deploying deceptive authentication features, and blocking external researchers from tools to check how malicious content is spreading on the platforms.
After acquiring the platform in October 2022, Elon Musk faced lawsuits and substantial accusations of facilitating the spread of disinformation from totalitarian regimes, as well as copyright infringements, after which he updated the platform, formerly known as Twitter, including changing its name to X. During this period, the social platform’s shares fell significantly, and the company’s value more than halved. After that, Elon Musk began selling the “blue dots” of authorised users to anyone who would pay money, which contributed to an even greater wave of fakes on X (Twitter).
Read also: Dozens of countries ready to support Ukraine’s resolution on nuclear safety at UN General Assembly
