Elon Musk’s social media company X has been fined €120m (£105m) by the EU over its blue tick badges, in a decision likely to draw a furious reaction in Washington.
According to the EU Commission, X misled users through the “deceptive” design of its blue badges, which it changed from user verification into a paid feature after Musk bought the company in late 2022.
In a post on the app, Musk said: “The “EU” imposed this crazy fine not just on X, but also on me personally, which is even more insane!”
X also fell short on providing a clear list of advertisers, required by the commission to help guard against illegal scams, fake ads and campaigns around political elections.
And the company failed to make available public data to researchers, “undermining” research into risks within the EU, the commission found.
The fine concludes one part of the EU’s two-year investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA). A probe is still ongoing into efforts to counter the spread of illegal content and battle information manipulation.
Ahead of the EU decision, US vice president JD Vance said on X: “Rumours swirling that the EU commission will fine X hundreds of millions of dollars for not engaging in censorship.
“The EU should be supporting free speech not attacking American companies over garbage,” he said.
The European Commission’s tech chief Henna Virkkunen said X’s modest fine was proportionate.
“We are not here to impose the highest fines. We are here to make sure that our digital legislation is enforced and if you comply with our rules, you don’t get the fine. And it’s as simple as that,” she told reporters.
The commission concluded that the design of X’s blue tick was “deceptive”, in clear violation of its rules.
“On X, anyone can pay to obtain the ‘verified’ status without the company meaningfully verifying who is behind the account, making it difficult for users to judge the authenticity of accounts and content they engage with,” it said.
“This deception exposes users to scams, including impersonation frauds, as well as other forms of manipulation by malicious actors.”
The fine is still relatively modest next to tech fines imposed by the EU in the past. DSA fines can be as high as 6 per cent of a company’s annual global revenue.
X will now have between 60 to 90 working days to come up with measures to comply with the DSA, with the time frame depending on the issue.
Failure to comply with the decision may lead to periodic penalty payments, the Commission warns.
The Commission also revealed it will continue a separate probe into TikTok’s design, algorithmic systems and obligation to protect children. TikTok staved off a penalty with concessions.
Virkkunen said forthcoming decisions on companies which have been charged with DSA violations are expected to take a shorter time than the two years for the X case.
“I’m really expecting that we will do the final decisions now faster,” she said.
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