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EU: Platform X is misleading users with verified accounts

Politiko 2024-07-12 14:30:32

EU: Platform X is misleading users with verified accounts

Billionaire Elon Musk's X platform is misleading users with verified accounts and violating European Union content rules, Brussels said on July 12, an announcement that could lead to heaped fines. EU regulators are not happy with the X account verification system, under Musk's ownership, since anyone with a premium subscription can verify the account. Earlier, before Musk bought the platform, the originally verified Twitter accounts were reserved for leaders, companies and journalists after the approval.

The official notice to platform X is the first to be made under the Digital Services Act (DSA), a law that forces digital companies to do more to control online content. The remark was made after regulators launched an investigation last December. X becomes the third company to face EU warnings about breaching new rules, after Brussels warned Apple and Meta to change the way they operate or face massive fines for breaching the second law known as the Digital Markets Act (DMA).

Musk bought social media platform Twitter in October 2022 and after it changed its name. But his plans for X have clashed with the EU, as the bloc wants big tech companies to do more to protect online users and increase competition in the digital sphere. Now, the European Commission in its initial assessment of platform X said the company was "violating" the DSA, arguing that the social network "is misleading" users with account verification rules.

"Since anyone can subscribe and receive 'verification' status, this has negative effects on users' ability to make free and well-informed decisions about the authenticity of the accounts and content they interact with," the statement said.

"There is evidence that this motivates malicious actors to abuse 'verified accounts' to deceive users," the statement said.

The EC also accuses X of failing to comply with rules regarding advertising transparency, as the company does not provide a database "where research can be conducted and that is reliable." The block also says Musk's company has not given researchers access to public data.

"X is right to defend. But if our assessment is confirmed, we will impose fines and demand major changes," said Thierry Breton, the EU's senior digital officer.

According to the DSA, fines can go up to 6 percent of a company's annual profits worldwide and force it to make changes to address violations. X can analyse the EU's remarks and defend itself. Under the rules, there is no timetable for how long an investigation might last. X is one of the 25 major online platforms with over 45 million monthly active users in 27 EU countries.

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