The European Commission has fined X €120 million for breaching core transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act. The decision, issued today, marks the EU’s first enforcement action under the DSA and targets the platform’s use of misleading verification symbols, lack of advertising transparency and restrictions placed on researchers.
The Commission’s investigation found three major infringements. The first concerns the deceptive design of X’s blue checkmark. Although the symbol is presented as a sign of user verification, anyone can purchase it without undergoing any meaningful identity check. According to the Commission, this practice misleads users, exposes them to impersonation scams and violates the DSA’s ban on deceptive design features. While the law does not require platforms to verify users, it expressly prohibits claiming verification where none has taken place.
The second infringement relates to X’s advertising repository. Under the DSA, online platforms must maintain clear, accessible and searchable ad libraries to allow researchers and civil society to detect scams, misinformation campaigns and coordinated manipulation. X’s repository, however, contains significant gaps. Critical information is missing, including the content of ads, their topics and the legal entity funding them. The Commission also notes design barriers and processing delays that undermine transparency and hinder independent scrutiny.
A third breach concerns X’s failure to give researchers access to public data. The DSA obliges major platforms to provide qualified researchers with access that enables them to study systemic risks. Instead, X’s terms of service prohibit independent access, including scraping, and its internal processes create unnecessary obstacles. These limitations, the Commission argues, impede research into key risks across the EU.
The €120 million fine reflects the severity, duration and impact of these infringements on EU users. As the first non-compliance decision under the DSA, it sets a precedent for how the EU intends to enforce standards across major online platforms.
Next steps
X now has 60 working days to detail the measures it will take to end the deceptive use of blue checkmarks. It must also submit, within 90 working days, an action plan addressing shortcomings in its advertising repository and its failure to grant researchers access to public data. The Board of Digital Services will review the action plan within one month, followed by a final decision from the Commission. Additional penalties may apply if X fails to comply.
Background
The decision forms part of wider proceedings launched on 18 December 2023 to assess X’s compliance with the DSA in areas linked to illegal content and information manipulation. While that investigation continues, today’s ruling addresses the Commission’s preliminary findings published in July 2024 on deceptive interface design, lack of advertising transparency and restricted data access for researchers.