EU Issues DSA Violation Warning for X's Blue Checkmarks

The European Union (EU) Commission's preliminary findings on X revealed that the social media's blue checkmarks are in breach of the Digital Services Act (DSA).

The violation also included "dark patterns, advertising transparency, and data access for researchers."

X's Policy on Verified Accounts Receives DSA Warning

In a press release, the Commission detailed that the social media giant has been non-compliant on three grievances. The blue checkmarks, which are known as identifiers for verified accounts on X are tagged as "deceptive."

The investigation revealed that X's ability to give "verified" status to any user that can subscribe can negatively affect the user's ability to identify what is authentic or not. The policy also welcomed malicious actors to abuse their verified status against unsuspecting users.

Several incidents showed that abusers would often use their verified status to deceive users. It has also affected how users interact with such accounts and content from them.

EU Requires Ad Transparency, Public Data Access on X

The Commission also stated that X does not provide a "reliable advertisement repository." The company allegedly designed barriers that hinder transparency for users.

The social media giant also prohibits eligible researchers from independently accessing its public data. The grant to the API of the platform would often require researchers to pay "disproportionally high fees" which often leads to discouragement to pursue work.

Once the Commission has finalized and confirmed the findings, X could face fines of up to 6% of its global annual revenue. The company would also be forced to make changes to resolve the breach.

The Commission started its formal probe on X's policy last December 2023 due to the alleged dissemination of illegal content and information manipulation on the platform.

"A non-compliance decision may also trigger an enhanced supervision period to ensure compliance with the measures the provider intends to take to remedy the breach," the Commission announced.