Elon Musk, who recently purchased the social network platform previously known as Twitter and now referred to as ‘X’, has found himself in conflict with the European Union (EU) after its executive arm, the European Commission, suggested the platform could be in violation of its Digital Services Act (DSA). The Commission, following a preliminary investigation, listed X’s verification processes, advertising transparency, and data accessibility for researchers as areas where the platform may be falling short.
Musk disputes these claims, instead suggesting the EU is pushing for an undisclosed agreement that would limit free speech on the platform — an agreement Musk says he refuses to endorse. “The European Commission offered X an illegal secret deal,” Musk wrote on the platform. “If we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us. The other platforms accepted that deal.”
The specific concerns of the EU include X’s system for verifying user accounts, suggesting it is misleading. The EU also criticized X for not sufficiently providing access to public data for research purposes and took issue with inadequate advertising transparency.
The potential fallout from this dispute could be costly for Musk’s newest business venture. If X is found guilty of violating the DSA, it could face a fine of up to 6% of its global annual revenue, which, based on the platform’s revenue last year, would be around $306 million. For his part, Musk seems prepared for the possibility, saying, “We look forward to a very public battle in court so that the people of Europe can know the truth.”
This is not the first time the European Commission tried to impose a fine on a major social media company. Earlier, in May 2022, they imposed a 1.2 billion euros fine on Meta, another social media giant, after finding them guilty of violating regulations set out by the Irish Data Protection Authority.