Elon Musk and X Investigated by the European Commission

Elon Musk continues to make the news with a string of various issues that seem detrimental to his public persona and his companies. Recently, the European Commission has accused Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, of deceiving users and violating digital content regulations.

As a result, the European Commission decided to run a preliminary investigation and found that X used deceptive tactics, known as dark patterns, that forcefully steered users of the social media platform to various targets without any choice. The European Commission explained that this unfair practice failed to maintain advertising honesty and restricted researchers’ access to public data.

The commission also criticized X’s verification process, which allows basically anyone to subscribe to X and easily apply for a blue checkmark. Once approved, users with the blue checkmark are able to use this verified status to mislead other users.

In response, X’s chief executive responded with an explanation about X’s blue checkmark and verification standards.

“A democratised system, allowing everyone across Europe to access verification, is better than just the privileged few being verified.”

X chief executive Linda Yaccarino via BBC

The European Commission’s investigation into Elon Musk’s platform X, under the Digital Services Act (DSA), could result in fines targeting the company’s global revenue by up to 6% and would also require X to undergo operational changes within the EU, according to the BBC.

In response, Elon Musk wrote his viewpoint on the matter on X.

The DSA IS misinformation!

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 12, 2024

Furthermore, the BBC also shared that the Commission stated that X could either contest the findings or address the issue by committing to changes that would ensure compliance. It also mentioned that any such agreement would be publicly disclosed, countering Musk’s allegation that the commission had proposed an “illegal secret deal.”