Elon Musk's X fined 120m by EU in first clash under new digital laws

"Elon Musk's social media platform, X, has been fined 120m (105m) after it was found in breach of new EU digital laws, in a high-stakes ruling likely to put the European Commission on a collision course with the US billionaire and potentially Donald Trump. The breaches, under consideration for two years, included what the EU said was a deceptive blue tick verification badge given to users and the lack of transparency of its advertising."

"The commission rules require tech companies to provide a public list of advertisers to ensure the company's structures guard against illegal scams, fake advertisements and coordinated campaigns in the context of political elections. In a third breach, the EU also concluded that X had failed to provide the required access to public data available to researchers, who typically keep tabs on contentious issues such as political content."

"The historic ruling by the European Commission is a part closure of an investigation that started two years ago. The commission said on Friday that it had found X in breach of transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA), in the first ruling against the platform since the laws regulating the content of social media and large tech platforms came into force in 2023."

The European Commission fined X 120m after finding breaches of transparency obligations under the Digital Services Act. The breaches included a deceptive blue tick verification badge, insufficient transparency over advertising, and failure to grant researchers access to public data. The commission requires tech companies to publish a public list of advertisers to guard against illegal scams, fake ads, and coordinated electoral campaigns. The investigation began two years ago and this ruling partially closes that probe while other inquiries continue. X faces potential fines up to 6% of worldwide revenue, and three additional investigations remain, including probes of content, algorithms, and potential incitement.

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