Elon Musk, the CTO and chairman of X, made allegations against the European Commission, stating that they offered an “illegal secret deal” to the social media platform. Musk claimed that the deal involved censoring speech without disclosing it to the public in order to avoid being fined in the EU. He mentioned that other platforms accepted this deal, but X did not. Musk also expressed his anticipation of a public battle in court.
The European Commission’s investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA) revealed that X breached certain transparency areas. The report mentioned issues related to dark patterns, advertising transparency, and data access for researchers. It stated that the platform’s “Blue checkmarks” and verified accounts can be easily obtained by anyone, leading to deception and abuse by bad actors. The report also highlighted the lack of a reliable advertising repository and barriers preventing supervision and research about risks. Additionally, X’s terms of service ban scraping, and its API access process discourages researchers from using data, citing high fees.
The preliminary findings indicate compliance failures that could result in fines of up to 6% of X’s worldwide annual turnover. As a consequence, the platform may need to address these issues to continue operating in the EU. The decision could also involve an enhanced supervision period and periodic penalty payments. X now has the opportunity to present a written response and consult further with the European Board for Digital Services.
The allegations made by Elon Musk against the European Commission raise concerns about the transparency and compliance of X with the DSA. The findings of the investigation point to significant issues that need to be addressed to avoid substantial fines and potential operational restrictions in the EU. It remains to be seen how X will defend itself and whether the final decision will have long-term consequences for the social media platform.