EU slaps charges on Elon Musk's X over disinformation and illegal content

The European Union (EU) is cracking down on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, formerly known as Twitter, for transforming it into a hotbed of disinformation and illegal content. 

The EU Commission on Friday issued formal charges against X, accusing it of violating the EU’s stringent social media regulations. This pioneering case, initiated under the bloc’s new Digital Services Act (DSA), could result in hefty multi-million euro fines for X. The DSA is a landmark law designed to curb toxic and illegal online content, holding platforms accountable for their algorithms and user activities.

Musk’s X has been a focal point of Brussels’ scrutiny since the billionaire acquired the platform in 2022. Accusations against X include allowing disinformation and hate speech to flourish, implementing misleading authentication features, and obstructing external researchers from analysing how harmful content spreads on the platform.

The European Commission, which regulates over two dozen of the world’s largest online platforms, including Facebook and YouTube, launched its first formal investigation into Musk’s firm in December 2023. Friday’s charges mark the first-ever enforcement action under the DSA.

The Commission’s preliminary findings reveal that X’s ‘blue checks’ system misled users into trusting dubious content. Originally intended to verify the identities of public figures, journalists, and government officials to combat misinformation, Musk’s policy shift allowed users to purchase blue check accounts. This change has been exploited by fraudsters impersonating prominent figures like US politician Hillary Clinton and author JK Rowling.

In addition, the platform failed to maintain a searchable and reliable advertisement repository and restricted researchers’ access to its public data, the Commission stated.

X now has the opportunity to defend itself against these charges and suggest measures to address the EU’s concerns. The Commission continues to investigate whether X has breached rules related to the spread of illegal content and has taken adequate steps to mitigate disinformation.

This case sets a significant precedent as the EU ramps up its enforcement of the DSA, with ongoing investigations into other major companies like AliExpress, Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, and TikTok over issues such as insufficient consumer protection and addictive algorithms.