EU fines X $140M for deceptive “blue checkmark” and other DSA violations

The European Commission has imposed a €120 million ($140M) fine on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) for violating the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The fine stems from three key infringements: misleading users through its “blue checkmark” system, failing to maintain a transparent ad repository, and obstructing researchers’ access to public platform data.

The Commission’s decision is the culmination of an investigation launched in December 2023 into several aspects of X’s compliance with the DSA. Preliminary findings were issued in July 2024, and today’s ruling formalizes the first non-compliance action under the new regulatory framework. The enforcement highlights the EU’s growing determination to rein in opaque practices by Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs), especially those with significant reach and influence over public discourse.

The deceptive design of the “blue checkmark” system was singled out as a key violation. Previously used to indicate identity verification of notable users, the blue checkmark is now purchasable by anyone on the platform, without meaningful vetting. The Commission found this practice misleading and dangerous, as it gives users a false sense of legitimacy and can facilitate impersonation fraud, coordinated manipulation, and the spread of disinformation. While the DSA does not mandate identity verification, it explicitly prohibits false indications of verification status.

X, formerly known as Twitter and now owned by Elon Musk’s X Corp, has undergone substantial changes since its rebranding and leadership transition. The platform remains one of the largest social networks in the EU, hosting millions of users and playing a central role in the region’s digital information ecosystem. As a designated VLOP under the DSA, X is subject to stricter obligations aimed at minimizing systemic risks and increasing transparency.

Another serious breach cited by the Commission concerns X’s ad repository. The DSA requires online platforms to maintain accessible, transparent archives of all advertisements running on their services, including data such as ad content, targeting criteria, and sponsor identities. However, X’s repository was found to be incomplete and difficult to access, with excessive processing delays and missing essential metadata, undermining efforts by researchers and civil society to detect political manipulation, coordinated influence campaigns, and scams.

The third infringement involved X’s obstruction of researcher access to public data. Despite DSA provisions ensuring qualified researchers can study platform dynamics for public interest investigations, X allegedly blocks data scraping and imposes restrictive conditions that prevent meaningful academic inquiry into areas such as misinformation, algorithmic amplification, and platform abuse. The Commission concluded that these barriers directly violate Article 40 of the DSA.

In determining the €120 million penalty, the Commission considered the severity and duration of the violations, as well as the number of users affected in the EU. X now has 60 working days to present measures addressing the deceptive design of blue checkmarks and 90 working days to submit a full compliance action plan for the ad repository and researcher access obligations. The European Board for Digital Services will review the plan and advise the Commission, which will then determine whether the steps are adequate.

Failure to comply with today’s decision could result in periodic penalty payments. The Commission emphasized that this enforcement action is part of a broader effort to ensure DSA compliance across all major platforms and that further investigation into X’s handling of illegal content and systemic risks remains ongoing.