The European Union has fined social media platform 'X' 120 million euros for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA), which came into effect in 2023. The European Commission's decision came after it concluded that 'X' had breached transparency rules by granting a 'misleading' blue verification checkmark that could be purchased by any user, which made it impossible to distinguish between trusted and other accounts. Additionally, the platform failed to provide public information about advertisers to facilitate the tracking of illegal advertising, coordinated campaigns, and attempts at disinformation during political processes and elections. It also failed to make public data available to researchers as required by law. The Commission clarified that the fine was divided into 45 million euros for violating the verification system, 35 million euros for breaching advertising rules, and 40 million euros for non-compliance with data access requirements. This ruling is part of broader measures initiated by the Commission in December 2023 to check the spread of illegal content on the platform and the effectiveness of its tools in combating information manipulation. These investigations are still ongoing and include mechanisms for reporting prohibited content and potential breaches of European laws on inciting violence and terrorism. European officials confirmed that the fine was imposed independently of any American communications and that the Union retains its 'sovereign right' to regulate the operations of tech companies. They also noted that 25 major American and non-American companies, including TikTok and 'X', were given a 90-day deadline to submit a plan of action to address the violations, while retaining the right to appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union, as major companies have done in the past. In response, Brussels announced it had secured commitments from TikTok to provide transparent ad repositories that will allow researchers and civil society organizations to track ads and uncover fraud or illegal material. This step, the Commission said, is a model for the required compliance. 'X' has not yet commented on the matter, while the Commission confirmed it has formally notified the company of its decision.
