This Friday, July 12, 2024, the European Commission issued a preliminary opinion stating that the platform X (formerly Twitter) does not comply with the DSA (Digital Services Act). Several shortcomings have been cited against the social network, acquired by Elon Musk in 2022. Let's break it down!
🔹 Misleading Blue Checkmarks
One of Elon Musk's first projects after acquiring Twitter was to reform the account verification system. Previously, blue checkmarks were assigned for free, following a review by Twitter, to accounts representing recognized public figures or organizations of public interest (journalists, celebrities, businesses, governments, influencers, etc.). However, in December 2022, the billionaire introduced a paid system. Now, blue checkmarks are awarded to accounts subscribing to a monthly plan, regardless of fame or public interest, except for government accounts, which receive a gray checkmark.
According to the Commission, this change has introduced confusion about the legitimacy of accounts. The authority states that “malicious actors are exploiting it to deceive users.”
The ability for anyone to sign up for this "verified" status negatively impacts users' ability to make informed decisions about the authenticity of accounts and content they interact with, the European Commission notes in its statement.
🔹 Lack of Transparency
The European Commission also criticizes X for a lack of transparency in two areas:
- Advertising: The Commission believes that X “does not meet the transparency obligation regarding advertising, as it fails to provide a searchable and reliable advertising repository.” Platforms are required to display targeting parameters and the financiers of ads, which X does not guarantee.
- Access for Researchers: The DSA requires platforms to offer access to public data. The regulator mentions the inability of researchers to conduct scraping on the social network, as well as the excessive API fees, made payable by Elon Musk.
The process followed by X to grant eligible researchers access to its application programming interface (API) seems to discourage researchers from carrying out their projects or leaves them with no choice but to pay disproportionate fees, the Commission states.
🔹 Is X Not Vigilant Enough About Fake News?
If the allegations in the preliminary opinion are confirmed, X could face a fine of up to 6% of its global annual revenue. A period of enhanced oversight to ensure compliance with the measures could also be imposed.
Furthermore, the Commission is currently investigating other potential failures by X regarding the fight against fake news. Last December, the regulator opened a formal proceeding against the social network for spreading “false information,” “violent and terrorist content,” and “hate speech.” Just days after the October 7 attacks, Thierry Breton notably raised concerns about the use of X for misinformation purposes.