X in breach of DSA, EU Commission preliminary finds

Social media platform X is in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA) in areas linked to dark patterns, advertising transparency and data access for researchers, the European Commission said today (12 July). 

The EU executive sent preliminary findings to X after it started a probe in December last year.

The Commission now finds that the function of X’s blue checkmark – used to verify accounts on the platform – is an illegal dark pattern and misleads users into believing that the accounts behind these are verified. 

In addition, the advertising repository that the platform needs to set up under the DSA, is not functioning and allowing the level of scrutiny that is needed under the platform rules. And finally, the Commission said that X does not give researchers access to information and lacks transparency. 

X – owned by multi millionaire Elon Musk – can now submit written comments on the Commission’s findings. The EU Executive can then either make commitments to make fixes or potentially issue a fine. Penalties under the DSA can be as much as 6% of the company’s global turnover.

The investigation into X’s possible other breaches of the DSA – in areas linked to illegal content and disinformation – is still ongoing. 

X’s policy lead said earlier this year (14 May) that reducing content moderators to cover seven of 24 EU languages should not be seen as a sign of non-compliance.

The tech giant, formerly known as Twitter, was designated as a Very Large Online Platform (VLOP) in April 2023 under the DSA, following its declaration of reaching more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU. 

The rules require VLOPs to follow strict rules, such as transparency requirements and the protection of minors online. 

Today’s findings are the first that the Commission issues under the DSA. Besides the X probe, other investigations and preliminary probes have started against Meta, TikTok and AliExpress.

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