EU officially investigates X for illegal content and misinformation

The European Union has launched its first official investigation under the Digital Services Act (DSA) into X (formerly Twitter). The investigation will determine whether X has failed in its duty to combat illegal content, misinformation and manipulation, BBC reports.

EU takes action against Elon Musk’s X over disinformation https://t.co/RmB2kboF3N

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) December 18, 2023

Thierry Breton is the European Commissioner for the Information Society. He stressed that the EU suspects X of having breached its transparency obligations.

Another point of contention concerns X’s recent changes to its verification process, the so-called blue brackets.

X has stated that it is cooperating with the regulatory authorities.

If X is found guilty of breaching data protection law, it could face significant penalties, including fines of up to 6% of its global sales, which could have a major impact on its financial situation, which is already stormy and fluctuating, to say the least.

The action was also prompted by wider EU concerns, notably about the proliferation of violent or terrorist content.

The European Commission is still gathering evidence, and no legal deadline has been set for the conclusion of the investigation.