Elon Musk accuses X of violating EU digital laws, Musk claims EU offered illegal secret deal

Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) has been accused by the European Union (EU) of multiple violations of the Digital Services Act, potentially leading to hefty fines for the social media platform.

What are X’s violations of the Digital Services Act?

One of the major violations is allowing users to get a “check mark” that was once reserved only for verified users.

These verification marks, which were once a form of verification, were previously given only to celebrities, politicians, and influential figures. After Musk acquired X in 2022, anyone could get the verification mark by paying $8 per month. This raised concerns that users could be tricked by malicious actors, according to an Indian television report.

Read also : Companies like Nestlé are changing their plastic recycling targets because they are difficult to implement

“Given that anyone can register to obtain such ‘verified’ status, this negatively affects users’ ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and content they interact with,” EU regulators in Brussels said, according to a report in the Financial Times.

How much can the EU impose on X?

If the EU’s findings are upheld, X faces a fine of up to 6% of its total global turnover. The company had sales of $5.1 billion in 2021, the last year it published its revenues.

What other EU rules has X broken?

In addition to the check, the EU also said X had violated rules on dark patterns, advertising transparency and access to data for researchers.

The Digital Services Act, which came into force this year, prohibits “dark patterns,” or the use of subtle design elements to trick users into disclosing personal data or purchasing certain products or services.

Read also : Adani to build port in Vietnam to expand international presence

One example is a company that tries to persuade a user to accept tracking by highlighting an opt-in button in bright colors, while downplaying the opt-out button by minimizing font sizes or placing it in different locations, according to a CNN report.

The EU also accused X of advertising transparency issues and of failing to allow its researchers access to its public data, as required by the Digital Services Act.

What was Elon Musk’s response?

However, Elon Musk wrote a post on X on Friday, stating: “The European Commission offered X an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they wouldn’t fine us. The other platforms accepted this deal. X didn’t.”

Thierry Breton, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, responded by saying: “Be our guest @elonmusk. There has never been — and never will be — a ‘secret deal’. With anyone.”

“To be clear: it was *YOUR* team that asked the Commission to explain the settlement process and clarify our concerns. We did so in accordance with established regulatory procedures. It is up to you whether or not you wish to offer commitments. That is how rule of law procedures work. See you soon (in court or not),” he wrote.

What other companies is the EU investigating?

The European Commission is also investigating TikTok, Alibaba’s AliExpress and Meta, according to a CNBC report, which said it is part of the EU’s efforts to regulate digital giants like Google and Meta, particularly in terms of how the digital companies target users with ads.

Read also : Invest in products and supply chain, less in ‘cute ads’: Ola’s Bhavish Aggarwal on slowing EV sales

In India, X reportedly banned 194,053 accounts between May 26 and June 25, 2024, according to the India TV report which added that the main reason for the bans was non-consensual nudity and child sexual exploitation, with 1,991 accounts removed for promoting terrorism.