X, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, has filed an appeal with the General Court of the European Union. According to the media company, the European megafine is based on an incomplete and superficial investigation, with an artificial interpretation of the obligations under the Digital Services Act (DSA).
According to X, the ongoing lawsuit is the first judicial procedure against a DSA fine and may set important precedents for the enforcement of the rules and the protection of fundamental rights.
Censorship
These EU internet laws are labeled in the United States, including by President Trump, as a form of European censorship of American (social) media services. Brussels takes the position that what is bound by rules and laws in real life also applies to digital life.
Promotion
The European Commission imposed the fine after it found that X had violated the transparency obligations under the DSA. The platform allegedly misled users with its verification program. Because anyone could obtain a blue checkmark for a fee, it became harder, according to the Commission, to assess the authenticity of accounts.
In addition, the Commission stated that X did not make information about advertisements sufficiently transparent and did not give EU investigators appropriate access to public data. These points were part of a broader investigation that began in December 2023. That investigation focused, among other things, on risk management, content moderation, misleading practices, and ad transparency.
Minors
The imposed sanction was the first fine under the new European internet law DSA, a 2022 law that obliges large online platforms to restrict illegal content, better protect minors, and provide more transparency about their methods. The law aims to give users more control over the content they see.
Meanwhile, further investigations into X are ongoing within the European Union. Regulators are reviewing, among other things, how the platform handles the spread of illegal content and misinformation. A separate investigation has also been opened into the use of the AI chatbot Grok, following international criticism of generated deepfake images with fabricated nude photos.