EU fines Elon Musk’s X $140M over “deceptive” blue checkmarks

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X has been fined $140 million by the European Commission for breaking rules designed to promote online transparency. The Commission found that X failed to comply with the Digital Services Act regarding its verification system (blue checkmarks), its collection of advertising information, and how it provides data to researchers.

The Commission says the company’s paid blue checkmark feature is misleading because it implies an account is verified without actually confirming the account owner’s identity. The Digital Services Act (DSA) doesn’t allow platforms to show users as verified unless they’ve gone through a verification process.

The decision also found that X’s ad archive isn’t transparent enough. Regulators point out it’s difficult to search, access is often delayed, and important information—like what the ads are about, their topics, and who paid for them—is missing. The Commission believes this makes it hard for people researching fraud or coordinated disinformation efforts to do their work.

The ruling also determined that X didn’t allow researchers to access publicly available data from its platform. According to regulators, X’s rules prevent qualified researchers from collecting data, and the process for gaining access is overly complicated.

This is the first time a decision has been made finding a company hasn’t followed the rules of the Digital Services Act. The amount of the fine was determined by how serious the violations were, how many EU users were impacted, and how long the issues lasted.

What happens next

X has 60 business days to explain how it will stop misleading users with its blue checkmarks. After that, it has another 90 business days to present a plan for improving its advertising data and how researchers can access it.

After submission, the Digital Services Board has one month to share its feedback. Then, the Commission will make a final decision and set a timeline for action. Officials warn that X may face further fines if it doesn’t follow the rules.

So, back in May, TikTok got hit with a huge $600 million fine from the EU. Apparently, they were accused of sending user data over to China. It’s a big deal, and TikTok isn’t taking it lying down – they’ve appealed the decision in court. Hopefully, they’ll get it sorted out, because I definitely don’t want my data going anywhere it shouldn’t!

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2025-12-05 23:18