Commission Sends Preliminary Findings to X Under the Digital Services Act

The three concerns

First, the Commission considers that X designs and operates its interface for "verified accounts" with the blue checkmark in a way that does not correspond to industry practice and deceives users. Because anyone can subscribe to obtain verified status, the Commission said this affects users' ability to make free and informed decisions about the authenticity of accounts and content, and it cited evidence of malicious actors abusing the feature.

Second, the Commission found that X does not provide a searchable and reliable advertisement repository. In its view, design features and access barriers make the repository unfit for its transparency purpose and prevent the supervision and research into emerging risks that the DSA requires.

Third, the Commission said X fails to give eligible researchers access to its public data on the conditions set by the DSA. Its terms of service prohibit independent access such as scraping, and its process for granting access to its application programming interface appears to dissuade researchers or leave them facing disproportionately high fees.

Possible penalties

If the preliminary views are confirmed, the Commission would adopt a non-compliance decision finding that X breaches Articles 25, 39 and 40(12) of the DSA. Such a decision could carry a fine of up to 6% of the provider's total worldwide annual turnover and an order to remedy the breach. It may also trigger an enhanced supervision period, and the Commission can impose periodic penalty payments to compel compliance.

What happens next

X can now examine the documents in the Commission's file and reply in writing, and the European Board for Digital Services will be consulted. The findings are without prejudice to the final outcome.

X was designated a very large online platform on 25 April 2023 after declaring more than 45 million monthly active users in the EU. The Commission opened formal proceedings on 18 December 2023. Its investigation into the dissemination of illegal content and the effectiveness of measures against information manipulation continues separately.

Sources

• European Commission: Commission sends preliminary findings to X for breach of the Digital Services Act
• European Commission: Commission opens formal proceedings against X under the Digital Services Act