Twitter's blue checkmark is misleading users, European Commission warns, could face fine of 6% of total turnover
On July 12, 2024, the European Commission issued a preliminary opinion to X (formerly Twitter) seeking clarification, alleging that the company has failed to be transparent and accountable regarding its content moderation and advertising, thereby violating the Digital Services Act (DSA).
Commission sends preliminary findings to X for breach of DSA
According to the European Commission, X has engaged in deceptive dark patterns, failed to ensure transparency in its advertising, and failed to give researchers access to its data. Based on these points, the European Commission has deemed X to be in breach of the Digital Services Act and is seeking an explanation from X.
The European Commission has filed three complaints:
1. X has designed and is operating its 'verified accounts' (with blue checkmarks) in a manner that is non-industry-standard and misleading. This 'verified' status is available to anyone, misleading consumers about the authenticity of verified accounts and content. In fact, there is evidence that bad actors are misusing verified accounts to mislead consumers.
2: X does not comply with the Digital Services Act's required transparency regarding advertising by not providing a searchable and trustworthy ad repository and by inhibiting access to the repository, which by design does not allow for the necessary oversight and investigation into the risks posed by ad serving.
3. X does not provide researchers with access to public data, which does not comply with the conditions set out in the Digital Services Act. X’s terms of use prohibit access to public data, including by scraping, and the process of granting access to the API would either impede the pursuit of research projects or leave researchers with no choice but to pay disproportionately high fees.
X has a right of defense and can provide a written explanation for the above. However, if the preliminary opinion is confirmed to be true, the European Commission will be able to determine that X is in violation of the Digital Services Act and require action. If a violation is determined, X may be fined up to 6% of its total annual worldwide turnover. X's turnover from advertising revenue alone was said to be $2.5 billion (approximately 390 billion yen) , so 6% would be about 23 billion yen.
In response to the European Commission's announcement, Elon Musk, who owns X, said, 'The European Commission has offered X an illegal secret deal: if we quietly suppress speech, we won't be fined. Other platforms have accepted this deal, but not X.'
The European Commission offered 𝕏 an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2024
The other platforms accepted that deal.
𝕏 did not. https://t.co/4lKsaRsYoA
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