Musk Accuses EU of Illegal 'Secret Deal' with X for Censored Speech Amidst Risk of Hefty Fine

EU tech regulators have accused Elon Musk's social media platform, X, of violating EU content regulations, potentially leading to significant fines and operational changes.

Violations of EU Content Regulations

EU tech regulators determined Friday that Elon Musk's social media company X violated EU online content regulations and its blue checkmark deceives users, which could result in a large punishment and major changes to its operations.

Reuters’ reports that a seven-month investigation led to the European Commission's first DSA accusations. Large internet platforms and search engines must do more to combat unlawful content and public security threats under the new guidelines.

The EU executive's preliminary conclusions or allegations against X focused on the company's dark patterns that influence user behavior, advertising transparency, and researcher data access.

Impact on Users and Verification Practices

It stated X's blue-checked verified accounts violate industry standards and hinder consumers' capacity to make educated decisions about account legitimacy.

Musk updated the blue checkmark to represent a paid subscriber after buying Twitter in 2022. Before, it indicated a public figure whose identity was verified.

The panel also claimed X violated a DSA requirement to provide searchable and reliable library advertisement information for easy access.

X was also accused of restricting researcher access to its public data. The corporation has three months to reply to the charges and might be fined 6% of its global turnover for DSA violations.

"X has now the right of defence — but if our view is confirmed we will impose fines and require significant changes," EU industry chief Thierry Breton warned.

Musk often mocks public personalities who criticize his companies, asking Breton on X: "How we know you're real?"

Musk's Controversial Allegation

Musk wrote to EU antitrust director Margrethe Vestager: "The European Commission offered X an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us. The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not."

Separate investigations into X's illegal content and disinformation controls continue, the Commission added.