EU Hits X With $140 Million Fine For Violating Transparency and Safety Rules

The European Union has delivered a powerful blow against Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, hitting the company with a landmark fine of €120 million (approximately $140 million). The punishment comes after a lengthy investigation by the European Commission, which concluded that X repeatedly violated key transparency and safety rules under the EU’s sweeping new law, the Digital Services Act (DSA). 

A Reckoning Under the Digital Services Act

European Commission Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium

The fine focuses on X’s failure to comply with the DSA, a regulation designed to force large online platforms to aggressively tackle harmful content and be more transparent about their operations. The Commission outlined three separate, serious breaches of the law, suggesting a systemic failure by X to protect its users and the integrity of data. The three offenses—deceptive checkmarks, poor ad transparency, and blocking researchers—highlight how X has allegedly cut corners on crucial safety measures since its restructuring.

The most significant portion of the fine—€45 million—is tied directly to X’s controversial blue checkmark system. Under Musk's leadership, the meaning of the blue check changed from a badge of verified identity to a paid subscription feature. The EU argues this shift is a clear violation because it employs “deceptive design practices.”

By allowing virtually anyone to pay for a blue check without a meaningful identity verification process, X created a chaotic system where users are easily misled. Regulators stated that this change exposes users to serious risks, including scams and impersonation fraud. The Commission’s Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Henna Virkkunen, did not mince words, pointing directly to the platform’s decision to allow confusion to flourish: "Deceiving users with blue checkmarks, obscuring information on ads and shutting out researchers have no place online in the EU. The DSA protects users."

The remaining €75 million in fines covered two crucial breaches related to transparency and oversight. First, X was penalized for failing to maintain a proper and accessible advertisement repository. DSA rules require platforms to keep a public database of all ads, showing who paid for them and who they targeted. This transparency is critical for civil society and researchers to detect coordinated influence campaigns and fake advertisements. The EU found that X’s ad database included "design barriers" and excessive delays, making it useless for its intended purpose.

X was also fined for blocking researchers from accessing public data. By restricting researchers’ ability to independently monitor the platform for systemic risks like disinformation and hate speech, X actively hampered efforts to understand the harm circulating in the European digital sphere. These findings suggest that X has been actively attempting to evade necessary scrutiny, a practice the Commission is determined to stop: "We are holding X responsible for undermining users' rights and evading accountability."